Foothills Sentry October 2020

Foothills Sentry Page 18 October 2020 Pint-sized hero gets free ice cream Foothill High School junior Natalie Salvatierra is no stranger to giving back, and during the pandemic, she took things to the next level with Solely Sunshine – a platform for sharing notes of encouragement to those who need it most. Back in May, Natalie noticed that due to the COVID-19 pan- demic and quarantining, many people were struggling with anxiety and mental health more than usual. Because of this, she started Solely Sunshine as a way to spread “sunshine” to those who are suffering with a mental health condition. Natalie began this ini- tiative by asking her personal In- stagram followers to write letters, and since then, Solely Sunshine has grown into an online platform that allows anyone around the world to submit an encouraging letter and make a difference with- in minutes. To date, Natalie has received and sent nearly 1,000 letters to people in 32 states and 35 countries across the globe. Baskin-Robbins named her a Pint-Sized Hero, an honorific that celebrates the acts of kindness initiated by young people nation- wide. To celebrate her contributions, the Baskin-Robbins Joy in Child- hood Foundation is treating Nata- lie to a year of free ice cream and paying her good deeds forward with a $5,000 donation shared between the local charities of her choice, CHOC Mental Health Fa- cility and the Assistance League of Tustin. OUSD is taking extensive safety precautions to protect students and teachers, reconfiguring rooms, in- stalling plexiglass dividers, signage and sanitizer stations and disinfecting high-touch areas, such as door handles. Teachers Courtney Stilwell and Maurine Tombrello gave their second grade students’ plexiglass a creative twist. OUSD reconfigures for safe reopening Photo by Kevin Sullivan, OUSD