FEBRUARY 2024
Upcoming Events
WHEN has taken Family Game Night on the road, and it's been a hit! These events are exclusively for students at the host school and their families. In 2024 alone, we have visited Plank South, Klem South, and Klem North, with great feedback. The kids have a ball while parents socialize and learn a bit about WHEN. We have even signed up 43 new members! Next up are DeWitt Road and State Road schools! Click the links below to register for the free event at your school:
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2/29 State Rd Elementary School, 6:30 p.m.
*If you can help out at one of the events above, we'd love to have you join us! Email Janine to let her know or sign up here.
Operation Parent offers loads of free webinars, live and recorded, on a multitude of critical topics that impact families with school-aged kids. Register for their upcoming February webinars highlighted below, and scroll down their page for an extensive library of on-demand, free content. Even if you can't attend live, registrants receive the recording afterward.
Save the date! Webster Central PTSA's Community Arts Day is just around the corner on Saturday, April 13, 2024 from 10:00 - 4:00. WHEN will have a table with a fun craft for kids and tons of information and resources for parents. If you would like to help us out at the event, contact Janine or sign up here.
Webster Headlines
Happy February birthday to WHEN member: Chris Bilow!
Have a birthday this month, but don't see your name? That just means you either haven't joined yet or we don't know your birth month. Let us know so we can add you!
WELCOME to our 50+ new WHEN members! If you are among those who recently joined at a Family Game Night event, thank you! We're glad you're here and hope you enjoy our monthly newsletters. Never hesitate to reach out with questions or suggestions. Learn more about WHEN here.
Congratulations to Brittany C! We drew her name from new newsletter subscribers to receive a $20 gift card to Guida’s Pizzeria as part of our Protective Factor community awareness initiative. Tell your friends to follow the QR code on the pizza box stickers from Guida's so they have a chance to get free pizza too!
WHEN volunteers have started work on our years 6-10 grant application. It’s not too late to get involved if you would like to help out, the more the merrier! Let Janine know if you are interested or sign up here.
PSA: URMC is offering Nicotine Dependence Treatment for all ages. In-person appointments, telehealth, and free Commit to Quit group sessions are all available. This is an amazing resource for our community and has the potential to help so many struggling with nicotine addiction. It's particularly beneficial to our youth population who have seen an increase in nicotine dependence, but have had few resources to help them quit.
Building Healthy Relationships
“Protective factors are conditions or attributes in individuals, families, and communities that promote the health and well-being of children and families.” - ChildWelfare.gov
Healthy relationships produce these protective factors: opportunities for prosocial involvement in the family and school; attachment and bonding to the family; emotional control; and interaction with prosocial peers.
By WHEN member, Judi Swanson, LCSW~R
“Love in a way that the person you love feels free.” - Thich Nhat Hanh
Healthy relationships, whether romantic, parent-child, sibling, friend, with classmates or people at work, require both parties to do the work. Values such as respect, trust, effective communication, honesty, equality, fun, love, kindness, and the ability to work through conflicts in a constructive manner are integral to developing and maintaining healthy relationships. Dr. Jennifer Gatchel, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, stated in a recent article, “Having nurturing relationships is protective of mental health and overall brain health.”
“Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”
- Albert Camus
There are a plethora of benefits from healthy relationships. Mental and physical health improve, resiliency strengthens, wellbeing increases, and stress decreases. Neuroscience News reports that data from a Columbia University study “showed children with at least one nurturing adult relationship had lower risks of depression, anxiety, and stress later in life.” The same study found that “positive relationships with parents and other adults during childhood are associated with better mental health in adulthood, regardless of exposure to adverse childhood experiences.” Relationships matter. Healthy ones leave a positive imprint on children’s lives including those who have been exposed to traumatic, difficult situations.
“Good relationships are no accident. They are the work of joy.”
- Unknown
Celebrate the healthy relationships in your life. Reach out and let people know how important they are to you. Pay attention to your inner voice if it is telling you there is a problem in one of your relationships. Are there patterns where you often feel stressed and maxed out by interactions? If so, talk to a trusted person in your life and seek support. Remember, as adults we can be a catalyst for comfort, caring, and healing in the life of a child, including those who are not our own children. It truly does “take a village to raise a child.” The residents of Webster, including members of WHEN, are working with joy and diligence to raise healthy, happy, resilient kids by increasing protective factors, sharing information about healthy lifestyles, and strengthening community. We invite everyone to join us!
Spotlight
Did you know that our very own Judi Swanson, LCSW~R is not only the author of our fabulous monthly Protective Factor news articles, but she is also the force behind Kindness Champions? We thought February would be the perfect time to spotlight her kindness. We are so grateful for her generosity. Judi has dedicated many hours to sharing her knowledge and expertise with our community through her wonderful articles and her work on WHEN programs and initiatives.
Thank you, Judi!
Upcoming Meetings
Our next meeting is Wednesday, February 14 at noon. Yup, Valentine's Day! What better way to warm your heart? Register here to receive details for both in-person and online options.
We meet in person AND online via Google Meet the second Wednesday of each month at noon. Many of us join during our lunch break. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate. In fact, our goal is to have representation from all walks of life, to better meet the needs of the whole community. If you missed the last meeting, view it via the link below. We plan to make the most recent meeting available on our website going forward.
Read last month's Coalition Meeting Minutes.
Reminders
Proactively encourage kids to develop healthy relationships by expressly stating what makes a relationship healthy vs. unhealthy. Consider sharing The Relationship Spectrum to discuss their ideas about relationships. While it was developed with romantic relationships in mind, most of the information is applicable to friendships as well.
The Relationship Spectrum (click to enlarge).