November 2020 Young Planet Leader Adam Avin

Teen mental health education advocate, Adam Avin, created the Wuf Shanti Children’s Wellness Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization, to teach mindfulness and social emotional learning, so children 3-17 years-old can live in health and wellness & peace and positivity. Adam also founded the Kids’ Association for Mindfulness in Education, and the international online Mindful Kids Peace Summit. Adam is certified in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction for Teens, Kidding Around Yoga, and the Emotion Code, and is the youngest meditation instructor at Yoga International. He also has been in publications such as Psychology Today, Tiger Woods Foundation Magazine, goop Magazine, CASEL newsletter, LA Yoga, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive Live Happy, and many others. Adam gave a TEDxYouth@KC Talk about getting mindful and social emotional learning programs into our education system, why mental health education is so important in stopping violence, and using our voice to make a positive difference in the world. He also sits on the Superintendent’s Mindfulness Initiative.

About Wuf Shanti

Wuf Shanti has produced 7 books, a mindful mobile app with signature games, 150+ videos, which have run on local PBS stations, the Children’s TV Network (the station in children hospitals across the nation), Adventure to Learning (health and fitness video programming in 25,000 schools), KidoodleTv (safe streaming network for kids), and Common Sense Media. Our mascot has traveled to schools and hospitals to visit with the kids, and these days, due to covid, we have been hosting online courses. Wuf Shanti curriculum for primary education, is taught in fun and engaging ways, through music, games, books, videos, and activities. The kids adore the dog character, and are happy to learn about mindfulness and SEL in this way.

About the Mindful Kids Peace Summit

MKPS curriculum, for secondary education, is minus the dog character, and presented in a much more serious way. It began as a summit, offered annually during Peace Week in September. It is now more like an on-line digital library because teachers and students can watch throughout the year, choosing topics that coincide with whatever lesson plan the teacher is focusing on for that particular week. Available topics include mindfulness, yoga, meditation, communication, diversity, inclusion, kindness, antibullying, cyber-bullying, stress reduction, gratitude, self-awareness, self-regulation, self-compassion, positive thinking, interacting with others, connection, collaboration, empathy, positive psychology, coping with emotions, mental health, substance abuse, suicide prevention, trafficking, and more. There are approximately 80 experts and more than 50 hours of content on MKPS, and the curriculum is shown in middle and high schools across the globe. None of the content is presented in a lecture format, and the kids enjoy learning from a peer (Adam) in a more interactive and interesting way. For example, content is delivered in presentation, demonstration, or interview form, in which Adam interviews various experts in the respective fields. Extras include discussion points, activities, journal questions, and group projects that the teacher can assign after each segment.

About the Kids Association for Mindfulness in Education

KAME is an interest-based student-run club where youth can come together to mindfully do good in the world and help get mindful programs into schools across the country. The goal is to empower student voice and youth advocacy, so the students become the teachers, and get Mindfulness Based Social Emotional Learning (MBSEL) mental health programs into schools K-12, while teaching the basics of mindfulness and SEL. Student ambassadors can then teach these self-regulation tools to other students to help them cope with emotions and navigate the daily stress of life in a productive manner. And then those students can teach other students, and so on.

Wuf Shanti Mission

Wuf Shanti Children’s Wellness Foundation’s mission is to teach the next generation how to have a mindful-mindset, appreciate what is good, and spread kindness, by encouraging kids to live in health and wellness, peace and positivity, and teaching them the tools to deal with stress in order to make this world a better place. Our intent is to get Mindfulness Based Social Emotional Learning (MBSEL) programs into schools K-12, in order to help children learn to cope with emotions, and reduce self-harm and violence to others. By utilizing student voice, it has helped get these mental health programs into our education system so that kids can grow up to be less depressed and anxious, and more compassionate and empathetic.