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LETTER
FROM SUSIE:
Thank You for your
interest in a Legacy
of Hope Day for your school
and community.
I am a change agent. My
goal is to help you
achieve objectives such
as helping teens and
their families
understand the feelings
that motivate their
choices and the
consequences of those
choices. I use this
approach to help youth
and adults see the good
choices from the
destructive ones. I help
youth and parents grasp
that
alcohol, drugs,
violence, self-harm,
bullying and sexuality
are often escapes from
emotional issues; and I
help reveal better
ways to cope and succeed
in life.
I
invite you to give me a
call at 800-707-1977 to
explore the
possibilities and the
fulfilling outcomes that
are possible for your
students, children,
grandchildren, clients,
and your families.
I'd be honored to
share my services with
your school and
community.
Thank
you for your time and
consideration.
Most Sincerely,
Susie
Vanderlip
Below
is a description of a
typical LEGACY
OF HOPE DAY at
a
MIDDLE SCHOOL OR
HIGH SCHOOL:
The
day begins
when Susie arrives first
thing in the morning, an
hour before the first
assembly.
Whomever
is organizing the day
meets with Susie to make
sure her technical needs
for the assembly(ies)
are taken care of and
that the day's schedule
is clear to everyone.
The key contact may be the school
counselor, a club
advisor, a vice
principal, a student
leader or other
individual.
A
typical day proceeds
with:
1. Susie
presents one to two
LEGACY OF HOPE
assemblies,
preferably both in the
morning unless
assemblies are being
split between two
different schools and
locations.
Assemblies may
be held in a gymnasium, auditorium or multi-purpose room. Auditoriums do
tend to be the best
setting when available
and able to accommodate
the student body.
Assemblies may be
targeted to reach the
entire student body of
to target certain
grades.
Both are effective
strategies.
Each assembly runs from 60 to 90 minutes, depending upon how much
time the school is able
to allot. Susie prefers 75 to
90 minutes in order to
deliver her entire message
and to allow for Questions and
Answer Session.
Middle school students,
in particular, like to ask
LOTS of questions! They
have a natural curiosity
and are less inhibited
about asking. Susie is always delighted to
answer student's questions
with a sincerity,
honesty and openness
they greatly appreciate.
Susie
has a 14 year history
of speaking to teens,
nearly one million in
fact, and is both comfortable and
competent at maintaining
the attention, interest
and upbeat attitude of up
to 2,500 teens in a
gymnasium. Susie can
handle teens on both
sides of the gym, in
bleachers and on the
floor when necessary.
She is versatile and
adaptable to the needs
of schools. Her largest youth audience
was 8,000 teens in a
convention center
including multi-media
screens and video taping
as she performed.
2.
Susie
stays
all day at the
school so students who
want to talk about
personal concerns can meet
with her in
private or in small
groups. Most schools
pick a "safe room"
where teens can talk with
Susie uninterrupted. We
announce at each
assembly that she will be
available for teens to talk
with her in a specified location
during certain class periods.
Schools may prefer Susie go into classrooms or meet with select groups
of students to hold
in-depth discussions on
topics from the
assembly. Schools may
prefer to pick certain
groups of students such
as high-risk teens,
leadership students, peer helpers/mediators/educators,
a service club like
FCCLA, sober or drug free
group, etc.
These
meetings provide a powerful and unique
opportunity for teens to
speak with an open,
honest, spiritually and
emotionally responsible
adult about real
life issues. Teens
actually LOVE hearing
the truths about life
when they come from an
outside adult they relate to.
They often open their
eyes and ears to the
very same messages they
refuse to listen to from
parents and familiar
teachers.
Susie
considers it a
significant privilege and
responsibility to be an
example of responsible
living, ethics,
character and compassion
to your children.
These one-on-one and/or classroom discussions always include insights into the family
disease of alcoholism,
how an alcoholic parent,
in particular, can damage
a child's self-esteem, the
potential danger to a
teen of
acting out on his/her shame,
blame and self-loathing.
Susie makes it clear to youth
that they
have choices, that they
can choose whether to
live as a victim
or to choose hope and
possibilities. She helps
teens see the realities
of the disease of
alcoholism and that they
do not cause
alcoholic parents to
drink, be abusive,
critical or neglectful.
And that teens cannot control
a parent's behaviors or
use; and
they cannot cure their
parent's problems.
These
discussions
often
focus on specific topics
that
a school is concerned
about
such
as bullying,
stress, self-harm, etc.
Susie has special expertise
in teaching stress
management tools and is
able to wrap them into lessons
on life. Teens love her self-help slogans and
positive self-talk tips,
Yoga for the Classroom
and guided relaxation
meditation.
3.
As soon after the
assembly as possible,
many schools have
students
who saw the assembly fill out our
one-page Survey of Hope.
The Survey is optional,
but provides a unique
window into the needs of
your students because LEGACY OF HOPE
creates a unique moment
when teens are more open
than usual and reach
out for help tas never
before.
The Survey asks
students to indicate if
they would be helped by
a support group for
depression, suicidal
thoughts, anger/rage,
stress, or self-harm as
well as if their own or
someone else's
drinking or drug use is
bothering them. The
Survey then asks students to give their
name to be contacted when and if
support groups are
started at the school. Some schools
also like to ask if
students would like to
participate in a peer
helping program,
sober/drug free club, or
other positive impact
activity.
Because of the nature of
the Survey and the
sincerity of LEGACY OF
HOPE, Susie encourages
conversation with the
school counselor(s) in
advance of her day at
the school.
This
is a tremendous
opportunity for the
school to get a snapshot
of what is really going
on with YOUR kids.
4.
Lastly,
many schools have
a LEGACY OF HOPE
presentation that
EVENING for the parents,
returning teens,
and/or whole community. Getting
parents on the same
page, understanding the
real life concerns and
challenges of their
teens, really helps
teens feel understood
and opens up communication
between teens and
parents. It also
enhances a positive
relationship between parents
and the school,
encouraging parental
support of programs on
campus.
An
evening program also
provides a powerful
opportunity to share a quick tally
of results from the
Survey of Hope. Parents and
the community hear
statistics on YOUR
teens, not some remote
national statistics.
Common outcomes include
statistics such as: 70% of teens
in feel excessively
stressed; 15% of 7th
& 8th grade teens
have cut on
themselves, etc.
Powerful and eye-opening
information that can
help a school, community
anti-drug coalition, or
family direct their
efforts more
productively.
Susie
will help you promote
the evening program with
Publicity Flyers,
Press Releases and PR ideas
(See Book Susie), as
well as make herself
available for radio,
press and TV interviews
for maximum outreach.
THE
DAY & EVENING ARE
COMPLETE. Teens, school
teachers, administrators
and support personnel,
parents, community
members, local newspaper
and other media have all
had a meaningful dose of
emotional awareness and
wisdom, concrete
solutions, and
invaluable infusion of
HOPE.
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