YSPP eNewsletter

Successful 2nd Annual Night of Jazz

Our 2nd Annual Night of Jazz was a wonderful success. Board members and staff invited friends to the top of the Smith Tower to enjoy breathtaking views of Puget Sound, wonderful music from the Brooks Giles Trio, and delicious food catered by The Grand Affaire. Sabrina Ross shared the significance of prevention given the suicides of two of her brothers and Leigh Manheim asked the attendees to open their hearts and pocketbooks.

Lots of Changes Happening Around Here!

June 30th means the end of our fiscal year and changes to the board and staff:

• Kathryn Portteus, Henry Berman and Leslie Walker finished their board terms and we said “farewell” and “thank you, thank you”.

• We also say goodbye to Kelly Horn, our field coordinator in Olympia and Sandy Williams, in Spokane. We will fill the Spokane vacancy but because of budget short-falls we will not fill the Thurston County position.

• I begin my last year at YSPP - my retirement begins July 1st, 2011 – and I am shortening my work week to 32 hours. I know, some of you wonder whether I can really do it – take a day off.

Summertime at YSPP

Summer is a time for us to catch our breath and think about what we have accomplished and what is still to be done. In August you will receive our annual report and I hope that you enjoy reading about all of our amazing activities. Be well and enjoy the sun whenever it decides to make an appearance.

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LGBTQ OUTLoud Program Video Premiere

View/Print Event Flyer (pdf)Directions to Hugo House

Please mark your fall calendar NOW for a fundraiser for YSPP’s OUTLoud Program. The event will be held on Tuesday, September 21st from 6-9pm at Capitol Hill’s Hugo House. We will premiere our DVD, “You Are Not Alone” that was produced to accompany our LGBTQ suicide prevention curriculum and you won't want to miss the Silent Auction.

Washington State Senator Ed Murray will moderate a panel of the youth who wrote, starred and directed the film. Aleksa Manila, a drag artist and outspoken community activist will serve as the evening’s host. You won’t want to miss this important event.

Elementary School Curriculum in the Works

Thanks to a generous gift from a family foundation we are busily at work writing an elementary curriculum that would complement H.E.L.P. and LOOK LISTEN LINK. We have done research with middle school parents and students and have selected Snoqualmie Valley School District as our pilot site. We have reaped the wisdom of their five elementary school counselors in the development and testing of the first two lessons. Given the academic, social and physical changes that children experience at this age, we have titled the curriculum “Riding the Waves”.

There will be a total of 10 lessons on handling emotions, problem solving and decision-making, and ways to recognize and help a friend in need. We are pleased with our progress and look forward to releasing the full set of lessons by the end of next school year.