Caryn Morris

Publications

Featured Articles

Explore a featured selection of my writing work below.
Orange County Library System •

Book Bikes Roll Out Library Access Directly to Seniors

When the Orange County Library System (OCLS) Book Bike makes its monthly visit to Hyde Park Village, a 55+ community in Winter Garden, Florida, we know that for many of the residents, it’s a penciled-in occasion.

As Branch Outreach Specialist Ethan W. rolls in to set up, you see eager residents waiting in the wings of the clubhouse, arms piled high with books ready to be returned and exchanged for a fresh stack. The enthusiasm around OCLS’s new mobile service vehicle is that it brings books
Orange County Library System •

Women's History Month: Retelling HER Story

The Stories we Gain by Reshaping Myths with Women as the Main Characters

Modern authors are myth-busting familiar tales by passing the pen to the side characters – women. Centuries of mythology across the world has historically centered around and celebrated male narratives: their origins, battles, journeys, wins and losses. Female characters, whether damsels or monsters, by contrast are often one dimensional. They are left with infamy, often shown as manipulative and deceitful, even when their
Orange County Library System •

5 Cookbooks Chef Mira Can't Live Without!

Perfect for aspiring or advanced cooks, Chef Yamira Lee Johnson’s top 5 cookbooks she can’t live without are inspiring, helpful reads for the kitchen. With each recommendation, we journey through Chef Yamira’s culinary career with roots planted in Puerto Rican cooking to her current passion for adapting old favorites into healthy, plant-based recipes.

A Taste of Puerto Rico: Traditional and New Dishes from the Puerto Rican Community by Yvonne Ortiz

Forks Over Knives: The Cookbook by Del Sroufe
Orange County Library System •

Attention, OverDrive Users: It's Time to Upgrade to Libby

On May 1, 2023, the OverDrive app for iOS, Android, and Windows 8/10 will be discontinued. OverDrive users are encouraged to upgrade to the newer Libby app to browse, check out, and enjoy Orange County Library’s eBooks, audiobooks, and digital magazine collection.

All your loans, holds, and wish list items on OverDrive will be waiting for you in Libby when you add your library card. Libby also comes with new features we know you’ll love, like:
• Tags to categorize books however you’d like—you c
Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando •

National Adoption Week July 19 - 25, 2021

Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando is providing even more opportunities for deserving animals to find their furever homes during PetSmart Charities’ National Adoption Week July 19-25, 2021!

Our goal is to adopt 150 dogs, cats, puppies and kittens who are in need of loving homes. We will host cat adoptions all week long at the Lake Mary, Altamonte Springs and Ocoee PetSmart locations below, and offer two offsite dog adoption events over the weekend.

Available cats will be listed in real-time on ou
Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando •

Before & After: Four-week-old Santos' Incredible Recovery

Many shelters do not have the time, space, or resources to treat pets like Santos. For over 10 weeks we nursed him back to health with multiple nebulizer treatments each day, topical antibiotic for his eyes and all the love encouragement we could muster to get him to keep fighting.

Your gift today can help ensure that all pets in need receive the care, compassion, and love they deserve. Watching Santos heal throughout his 10-weeks in our care was a true transformation, but it would not have bee
Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando •

Young Entrepreneurs Are The Next Generation of Philanthropists

In the midst of months of social distancing and isolation due to COVID-19, three sisters in east Orlando decided to venture into the business of giving back. Enter the young entrepreneurs running S3 Creationz. It started with their mother’s suggestion to get creative with the free time the sisters now had at home. They decided to design and sell bracelets using Instagram as their marketplace.

“We stayed home all summer and, according to our mom, we were watching too much TV,” says S1, the oldes
Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando •

Two Zip Codes Down, Many More To Go

Since 2018, Community Outreach Manager Cathy Houde, has canvassed 22 square miles of east Orlando’s Azalea Park neighborhoods searching for feral cats. “It’s rare when we go door to door and occupants are not aware of the stray cats wandering their neighborhood,” says Cathy. “Most residents are in tune with who’s in their yard, or even the cats wandering two streets over. It goes to show how pervasive overpopulation of stray cats is in Central Florida.”

In just seven years, one unaltered female
Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando •

Whisker's Workforce: Working Cat Program

What do I do when I bring the cats home? When you bring the new cats home, they will need to be confined to an escape-proof room or enclosure like a tack room, garage, coop, or XXL dog crate for 2-4 weeks while they acclimate to their new surroundings. You will feed/water and clean the litter pan daily during the confinement period. After this period of confinement, the cats will usually accept their new home and may be released. You will continue to provide daily food and water and allow them a
Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando •

25,000 Pounds of Pet Food Distributed to Families in Need

No pet parent should have to feel the panic and stress of prioritizing pet food purchases against a laundry list of other financial responsibilities. Especially if it means the difference between keeping their beloved pets or surrendering them to the shelter.

But as the spread of COVID-19 increased this summer in Florida, so did the struggles for millions of families who are feeling the pressure of unemployment or reduced wages. The Pet Alliance Pet Food Pantry immediately went into action with
Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando •

13 Neglected Dogs are Now Safe at

After initial recovery efforts that included veterinary checks and sheltering from North Florida Animal Rescue, the dogs were then transported to rescue partners, including Pet Alliance, for placement.

While in our care, staff will perform a full assessment of the 13 dogs and provide them with whatever they need to get healthy and be ready for adoption. Many of them have severe skin conditions including missing fur, painful sores and itchy, inflamed skin. They will likely require several weeks

Three "Soft Skills" That Are Actually Superpowers

When you think about how we learn and grow throughout our careers, there is a tendency to place importance on hard skills — the technical work that needs consistent training and upkeep to stay ahead of the curve in an ever-evolving work climate. However, according to a study conducted by CareerBuilder, our emphasis on fine-tuning technical skills and abilities should interweave with our pursuit of perfecting our "soft" or interpersonal skills.

"Soft skills are the talents you exude when you can

Course Director and Marine Corps Veteran Aaron Benningfield Sets World Record

On October 25, as a part of Team Red, White & Blue (Team RWB), Creative Writing Course Director Aaron Benningfield set a new world record for running 41 miles in a gas mask, beating the old record of 37.2 miles.

Aaron, a Marine Corps veteran, served for 15 years as a military police officer in active wartime. In his role as a hostage and suicide negotiator, he became concerned with the internal struggles many Marines and veterans experience. Raising awareness of veteran suicide became his inspi

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Explore a featured selection of my writing work below.