KyleCares Foundation News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . September 2020

With the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of teens and young adults across the country it is more important than ever for schools to be vigilant and (if possible) proactively assisting their students. Let KyleCares help.  School faculty, students, and parents may need support now more than ever.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

My name is Angela Haglund and I am a recent graduate from Keene State College. My freshman year of college I was very lucky to meet Kyle and we became close friends on campus. After losing Kyle to suicide, I noticed the impact it had on our friends and myself. Mental Health awareness is so important to me because everyone experiences it personally, as we all face challenges in our lives. I believe it is so important to be considerate and kindhearted to everyone you meet. It is equally important to share the same level of care with yourself.             During my time at Keene State I focused a lot of my extra-curriculars around mental health and community service. My senior year I was the New England District Governor of Circle K International (Kiwanis) and part of this role was choosing a governors project. For my year-long project I chose to raise awareness and funding for Mental Health in memory of Kyle. With the help of my peers, we were able to raise over $8,000 our senior year and with the help of our school administration we also implemented events on campus. Read Angela's Complete Story

Active Minds Spirit Week The KyleCares Foundation is proud to support Active Minds, a nonprofit organization changing the conversation about mental health. You can join us by participating in the 2020 Active Minds Spirit Week October 19- 23rd! This focused week highlights five vital means of creating a new culture around mental health: awareness, education, advocacy, connection, and community. Download the Spirit Week Toolkit  and start planning your week today.

SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT

The East Bridgewater (MA) School District proactively dedicated an entire Professional Development Day for teachers and staff to Health & Wellness. The district see mental and physical health as key to academic achievement, and Assistant Superintendent Gina Williams noted, “we cannot ignore the mental health and well-being of our students or they can’t access their academic success”.   KyleCares collaborated closely with Gina’s team to sponsor multiple programs that staff could choose from, including Samaritans “Supporting Youth at Risk For Suicide” workshops, Minding Your Mind Young Adult Speakers who shared their life experience living and coping with mental illness, and Taproots Behavioral Health workshops for “Exploring the Impact Teachers Have on Their Students”. The East Bridgewater approach to Professional Development Day is a model program that could easily be replicated by other school districts looking to educate their faculty & staff on mental health and suicide prevention.

Special THANK YOU for our recent grant from:

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