Samantha Facciolo

I was a preemie, born 14 weeks too soon. Doctors said I might never walk. Every day, my grandfather held me in the NICU, whispering, “Be a fighter.”

Over the past 39 years, Jimmy Carter's housing initiative has given families in need a place to call home and shone a spotlight on the issue of affordable housing.

While Ella Scott and her classmates at Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas, were attending school remotely, the Leander Independent School District’s Community Curriculum Advisory Committee banned 15 books. Between February and August 2021, the committee generated two more lists of banned books. When Scott returned to in-person learning last fall and discovered the books were gone, she and her friend Alyssa Hoy co-founded the Vandegrift Banned Book Club.

Figuring out how to help prevent school shootings is essential to protecting kids and teachers, and these simple but effective strategies can make a huge impact.

I was teaching in an early childhood classroom just over 100 miles north of Newtown when news of the Sandy Hook shooting reached us. Following that tragic day, my co-teacher and I sat together in our empty classroom for a conversation neither of us wanted to have.

The lessons my grandfather taught me while we solved crossword puzzles went well beyond putting letters in squares.

Crosswords revealed not just my grandfather’s hidden penchant for puzzles but also his grace in the face of unwanted change. Somewhere between 18-Down and 46-Across, he answered my unvoiced questions about the changing nature of relationships and the constancy of love.

My grandmother kept a candy bowl on a table by her front door. Growing up, I would sneak butterscotches and strawberry sweets. During the pandemic, my grandmother moved into assisted living. On my first visit after lockdown, I saw how much of her 90-year life she had discarded to fit into her new residence. Yet, she’d saved the familiar bowl...

Immigration advocates heralded the arrival of the Biden administration and its commitment to immigrants' rights, but the crisis is far from over. Millions of immigrants languish in the system, awaiting a verdict that will either grant them asylum or deport them to their home countries. Thousands more bide time in holding facilities throughout the U.S.

With the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, the world remains full of stories of disconnection and isolation. In many cases, our more vulnerable populations, including seniors and youth, have experienced a particularly difficult time. However, where there is challenge, there are opportunities for people to become heroes. We found four remarkable stories to remind us that connection is always possible — across distance, across ages, and often, from unexpected sources.

Wineries, by nature, have always been places of connection, places where people gather to share a bottle of wine or a wine-centered experience. It’s only natural that many wineries have become partners in supporting positive community change. From offering wine baskets at nonprofit silent auctions to holding tasting events with proceeds going to charity, many wineries have demonstrated their willingness to give back to their local communities.

Peggy Raley-Ward was 21 years old when she decided to open a winery on her father’s farm in Sussex County, Delaware. The only problem? At that time, it was prohibited to produce and sell alcohol manufactured within state lines. So, for three years, Raley-Ward worked to change the law.

Last month marked 30 years since Peggy Raley-Ward successfully lobbied the General Assembly to pass its Farm Winery legislation, which ushered in Delaware's wine, cider and craft brew industry.

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I first met Pedro when he was nine years old and more interested in soccer and girls than in school. I was a reading mentor in an ESL classroom, and Pedro had just arrived in the U.S., one of an influx of Mexican immigrants who’d come north in search of a better life. He lived in a one-bedroom apartment with his family, a large, boisterous group who cooked meals from scratch when I came for home visits. These days, my students, like Pedro, are primarily recent immigrants from Mex...

For teachers, June is a time of recognizing student achievement, of reflecting on the year that was and looking forward to the summer ahead. However, for a group of graduates in Pennsylvania, this week was not a time of joy but a reminder of how dangerous school has become.
The eighth-grade class of St. Cornelius Catholic School in Chadds Ford received a parting gift to commemorate graduation. That gift? A SafeShield, a bulletproof insert students can place into their backpacks in the event o...

Some of the best family memories are made on vacations together. For families who have a child with disabilities, additional factors need to be considered when planning travel. Read on for tips to make the most of your next vacation.

Marla Andich loves to bake. She bakes at home, she bakes for family, and she bakes for friends. One of her specialties is challah, the braided egg bread traditionally served for Shabbat dinners and other Jewish holidays. A quick jump across the Mississippi River, but also in the Quad Cities region, Salma Arabi, former owner of Dewey’s Copper Cafe and a culinary student, wanted to learn. Lisa Zaynab Killinger, president of the Muslim Community of Quad Cities, had a beautiful catering kitchen b...