By Ileen Henderson, National Director of Bright Spaces Epigenetics is an emerging area of scientific research that shows how environmental influences—children’s experiences—actually affect the expression of their genes. According to resources from the Center for the Developing Child at Harvard University, injurious experiences, such as malnutrition, exposure to chemical toxins or drugs, and toxic stress …Read More

by Ileen Henderson, National Director of Bright Spaces “Sesame Street” is featuring its first homeless Muppet, Lily. Lily is 7 years old and her family is “staying with friends on Sesame Street after losing their home,” Sesame Workshop said. “We know children experiencing homelessness are often caught up in a devastating cycle of trauma — …Read More

by Ileen Henderson, National Director of Bright Spaces “It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.” ~ Mother Theresa While searching for a story to illustrate helping the homeless and others impacted by the trauma of poverty at the holidays, I found this article from the Peoria Journal Star …Read More

by Ileen Henderson, National Director of Bright Spaces Recently, the Bright Space program had the honor or hosting two meaty and informative workshops presented by our partners, First Book and the Lego Foundation. These webinars fit together beautifully to lay the groundwork for our program design, our design strategies, and our trauma-informed volunteer emphasis. While …Read More

by Ileen Henderson, National Director of Bright Spaces It’s been three months since the Bright Horizons family came together to create and support the Restoring Dignity Bright Space in McAllen, TX. To date, more than 2,500 children have been served with more than 75 per day on average utilizing the Bright Space as they stop …Read More

The incredible story of the Humanitarian Respite Center Restoring Dignity Bright Space in McAllen, Texas is the cover story of the September/October issue of Exchange Magazine! The issue includes a feature article written by our National Director of Bright Spaces Ileen Henderson which details our journey creating the Bright Space, as well as an interview with Bright Horizons CEO Stephen Kramer about how important this …Read More

by Ileen Henderson, National Director of Bright Spaces As I learned during my short visit to McAllen, Texas, at the Humanitarian Respite Center, the trauma of our immigration crisis is seriously affecting the mental health and lifelong physical well-being of the children who have traveled through unknown and unimaginable traumatic situations to cross the border.  Many …Read More

By Ileen Henderson, National Director of Bright Spaces Flying home from Texas after a week in McAllen creating an amazing Bright Space, my mind is full of images, my heart is full of emotion, and my resolve is strong. The Humanitarian Respite Center (HRC) where we created the Bright Space is a wonderful place. I …Read More

by Ileen Henderson, National Director of Bright Spaces When Bright Horizons CEO Stephen Kramer committed to making a difference for the migrant families in McAllen, Texas, through creating a special Bright Space, I was honored to be charged with determining how best to utilize our resources and generosity to have an impact on these children. …Read More

by Ileen Henderson, National Director of Bright Spaces McAllen, TX is a place very few Americans had heard of till a few months ago, and now the hotels swell with immigration lawyers, advocates, and caring and concerned volunteers signing up in droves to drop everything in their lives and travel to this small American border …Read More