A resource for family-focused entertainment and positivity during COVID-19. The blog, created by two Bay Area teens, is 100% free and all donations benefit the non-profit, Frontline Foods.
Two Bay Area high-schoolers, Katherine Kudriavtsev and Sarah Emberling, cooped up at home and stuck in quarantine, decided to use their time for something other than scrolling through TikTok. That’s how QuaranTEEN was born, a nonprofit creative entertainment platform for teenagers and parents to utilize during the quarantine. QuaranTEEN was created for the purpose of sharing people’s stories, spreading positivity, and providing a way for people to stay in touch and connected despite the shelter-in-place.
“COVID-19 is not only a pandemic, but also a psychological pandemic. Lots of people are feeling stressed, scared, lonely, or hopeless, because of the health or economic problems caused by COVID. We created QuaranTEEN to combat these feelings of negativity. We wanted to find a way to give everyone a creative outlet and safe space to cope with their feelings,” Founder Katherine Kudriavtsev states.
QuaranTEEN is a website that contains many fun and interactive features such as a teen blog, a community forum, entertainment quizzes, as well as a pen-pal exchange.
“Being stuck at home for months has been really hard: I think most, if not all, teenagers miss being able to go out with their friends and meet new people. We wanted to include a Pen Pal project on QuaranTEEN to give teens a way to make new friends from their very own couch, a way to continue to socialize but still adhere to quarantine and social distancing laws,” says founder Katherine Kudriavtsev.
Outside of being a platform for teens, QuaranTEEN also aims to provide relief for working parents by producing multilingual reading videos to entertain younger children, as well as a separate blog page dedicated to helping parents share tips and advice regarding childcare. There have been over 20 reading videos featured on QuaranTEEN’s “Kids and Parents” page, in English, French, and Russian, providing entertainment to children of all languages and cultures.
“As much as everyone loves children, there are times when you just need a break, parents included! Our reading videos were made just for that! A quick, fun, and educational way to entertain your child to give you your well deserved break,” says Founder Sarah Emberling.
The Kids/Parent Page and the Teen Blog Page also give teens an interactive opportunity to volunteer as blog writers or readers for the site.
Founders Katherine Kudriavtsev and Sarah Emberling add on, “We have already received numerous amounts of teen volunteers: readers and blog writers from all over the world, reaching as far as from the Americas, to Europe, to Asia, but we are always looking for more people to become content creators on our site and expand our team! We welcome anyone who’s interested, passionate about writing, having their voice heard, or simply wants to do their part in helping people during this difficult time, to apply and join our QuaranTEAM.”
Our volunteers share their personal reasons for joining the team, “QuaranTEEN reminds us that there is more to this pandemic than just statistics and death counts. At its heart, the thing that is going to get us through this is people. Not statistics. Not feel-good advertisements. Not corporations. People. By writing for QuaranTEEN, I hope to be able to be that reminder. A reminder that behind all the sorrow and death, people are still there, ready to reach out and offer their support,” says Talia Ostacher, blog writer for QuaranTEEN and incoming senior at Henry M. Gunn High School.
Fellow blog writer Julianna Chang agrees, “During this time, it’s essential that teens have a creative outlet to post, share their feelings, and interact with other teens. I often find myself bored and wanting to do something useful, but I can’t seem to find the right place to go and spend my time.”
“I think it’s a great opportunity overall to help others during this time in a unique way,” Los Gatos student Priyanka Pulikeshi says.
Reader and Blog Writer, Clementine Devaux of Menlo Park High School states, “I really love the website and how there is so much to offer: quizzes, blogs, and more! It’s really fun to be apart of this, so I can help as many people as I can during quarantine, whether it be giving people ideas for things to do to cure their boredom or donating.”
Although QuaranTEEN is 100% free for use, QuaranTEEN accepts donations through their GoFundMe. All donation proceeds go directly to supporting Frontline Foods, a non-profit organization aiming to aiding local small businesses/restaurants that have been hit hard by shelter-in-place measures, as well as feeding front line healthcare workers. QuaranTEEN’s mission is to raise as much money for Frontline Foods as possible, to help support local Bay Area businesses, as well as feeding the essential heroes who continue to work in this time. The recently published QuaranTEEN has already raised $300 for Frontline Foods, and is aiming to get to $1,000 by the end of the month.
“Frontline Foods is an amazing non-profit organization. It helps keep small businesses from being economically destroyed and shut down by the pandemic, and it helps feed and boost the morale of essential workers, all at once! If you’ve enjoyed using QuaranTEEN, like our initiative and site, or have the means donate, it would mean so much to us if you could help us reach our goal of $1,000 for Frontline Foods by donating to QuaranTEEN’s Go Fund Me!” Founders Katherine Kudriavtsev and Sarah Emberling say.