We Stand Together
Donation protected
In a time when rapidly growing social media connects the world issues of mental health are becoming more and more common in teens and children. The Huron Valley School District has not been immune to this problem. Over the last ten years the district has had a staggering increase in suicides and attempts. I only learned the extent of this problem after my best friend Jake Oslin became the 7th of the decade in March of the last year. The Huron Valley District has an enormous amount of resources specifically for the well-being of students from the "Okay-2-Say" program to counselors to the Community Coalition. However, there is a clear stigma about mental health and wellness within the student body that prevents staff and students from starting a conversation about problems relevant to them.
What started as a Girl Scout Gold Award project by one Lakeland student, We Stand Together is a week-long, comprehensive, multi-step program designed to break the stigma of mental health to educate and encourage students to use the resources they have around them from grades K-12.The program will impact every student in the Huron Valley community and already has the approval of nearly all the 12 schools in the district already. Set to run in late January, each age group of students will focus on issues most relevant to them. High school students will focus on suicide prevention, depression, and how to seek help, middle school students will focus on stress management and how to talk about mental health, while in elementary schools students will focus on how their words impact others as well in order to build positive relationships early. This tiered system gets the discussion going at all levels with topics that are meaningful to those listening.
We Stand Together champions the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program. For that reason students at all grade levels will be given bracelets and information cards relating to the cause, serving as a reminder and as a tool to start a conversation for those who need it. Every locker in the district will have a positive message written by another student in the district with their name and graduating year to show support and unity from within. Speaker's to discuss mental health and stress management will be brought in for the middle school and high school level students to discuss concerns most relevant to them. Posters with positive body image facts and resources will be put up throughout all middle schools in the district. During that time mirrors will be blacked out as a symbolic gesture to get students to focus on internal beauty and value. In order to bring students together beyond each individual school the week will end in a district wide unity event.
However, mental health and wellness is not strictly a student issue. Providing parents with the information they need to spot signs of depression is also key to the program's success and central to its mission. By providing educational materials like educational Youtube videos and updates to pre-existing resources we can include parents in the conversation.
At the end of the week, students from across the district will be able to get involved in a district wide unity event. Special shirts relating to the cause will be available for pre-order so that students may show their support. All profits will go towards funding We Stand Together for years to come. With a sustainability plan already in place, We Stand Together will stay with the district for years to come.
With all these renovations and updates to the current system in place that covers over 9,000 students district wide, We Stand Together needs funding. With about 600 dollars of the 5,000 needed to run the program smoothly, we are far off from our target. Any donation helps to make a positive change in the community, while all leftover funds will be put towards next years program.
We Stand Together started as a Girl Scout Gold Award project and has stayed student led and designed but has grown to recieve the support of these community organizations.
-Lakeland NHS -Lakeland NTHS -Lakeland SLS -Huron Valley Community C.
-Lakeland Leadership -JOOI Club -DECA - Optimist Club
- Girl Scouts -Boy Scouts - Rotary Club
-International Academy West NHS-
This is not one person making a change for the community, this is the community making a change for a community.
Thank you for your support!
Your'e helping us change the way we talk about mental health and wellness.
http://huronvalleycc.wixsite.com/huronvalley-cc
https://yellowribbon.org/
What started as a Girl Scout Gold Award project by one Lakeland student, We Stand Together is a week-long, comprehensive, multi-step program designed to break the stigma of mental health to educate and encourage students to use the resources they have around them from grades K-12.The program will impact every student in the Huron Valley community and already has the approval of nearly all the 12 schools in the district already. Set to run in late January, each age group of students will focus on issues most relevant to them. High school students will focus on suicide prevention, depression, and how to seek help, middle school students will focus on stress management and how to talk about mental health, while in elementary schools students will focus on how their words impact others as well in order to build positive relationships early. This tiered system gets the discussion going at all levels with topics that are meaningful to those listening.
We Stand Together champions the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program. For that reason students at all grade levels will be given bracelets and information cards relating to the cause, serving as a reminder and as a tool to start a conversation for those who need it. Every locker in the district will have a positive message written by another student in the district with their name and graduating year to show support and unity from within. Speaker's to discuss mental health and stress management will be brought in for the middle school and high school level students to discuss concerns most relevant to them. Posters with positive body image facts and resources will be put up throughout all middle schools in the district. During that time mirrors will be blacked out as a symbolic gesture to get students to focus on internal beauty and value. In order to bring students together beyond each individual school the week will end in a district wide unity event.
However, mental health and wellness is not strictly a student issue. Providing parents with the information they need to spot signs of depression is also key to the program's success and central to its mission. By providing educational materials like educational Youtube videos and updates to pre-existing resources we can include parents in the conversation.
At the end of the week, students from across the district will be able to get involved in a district wide unity event. Special shirts relating to the cause will be available for pre-order so that students may show their support. All profits will go towards funding We Stand Together for years to come. With a sustainability plan already in place, We Stand Together will stay with the district for years to come.
With all these renovations and updates to the current system in place that covers over 9,000 students district wide, We Stand Together needs funding. With about 600 dollars of the 5,000 needed to run the program smoothly, we are far off from our target. Any donation helps to make a positive change in the community, while all leftover funds will be put towards next years program.
We Stand Together started as a Girl Scout Gold Award project and has stayed student led and designed but has grown to recieve the support of these community organizations.
-Lakeland NHS -Lakeland NTHS -Lakeland SLS -Huron Valley Community C.
-Lakeland Leadership -JOOI Club -DECA - Optimist Club
- Girl Scouts -Boy Scouts - Rotary Club
-International Academy West NHS-
This is not one person making a change for the community, this is the community making a change for a community.
Thank you for your support!
Your'e helping us change the way we talk about mental health and wellness.
http://huronvalleycc.wixsite.com/huronvalley-cc
https://yellowribbon.org/
Organizer and beneficiary
Brandt Burgdorf
Organizer
Milford, MI
Kristen Rowell
Beneficiary
