Shaker Help Request

Shaker M emails:

I have a question that I was wondering if you could answer or post on Shakesville. I have this amazing, wonderful, sensitive little boy - he's 8 - who had a great teacher this last year who led him to really develop his commitment to the environment. (We have a rockin' elementary school.)

Anyway, yesterday afternoon my husband came in from work and he and I began updating each other on the latest awful things we'd heard about the oil volcano in the Gulf of Mexico. My little boy was in the kitchen, reading at the counter, and a few minutes later I realized he was absolutely weeping. I went to ask him what was wrong and saw that he was also shaking like a leaf... anyway, he finally managed to tell me, "I'm scared of the oil spill." I felt dreadful for frightening him so. The only thing that made him feel better at all was when I told him we could try to donate money or time or whatever to an organization working to fight / contain / negate the disaster... we live in New Mexico, so we probably can't help clean oily birds.

So, as a reader of your blog, it struck me that you or members of your community might have suggestions about concrete ways we can help. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, and make my little guy a bit less scared.

Have at it, Shakers!