JANUARY 2024
Upcoming Events
WHEN Family Game Nights with free Candy Bar BINGO! These events are exclusively for students at the host school and their families. Be on the lookout for WHEN Family Game Nights at more Webster schools in the coming months! Click the links below to register for the free event at your school:
Why is WHEN promoting Family Game Nights? Shared activities strengthen children's bonds to their family or caregivers, and building community helps kids feel connected. These are protective factors that help build resiliency and healthy coping skills that equip children and teenagers with the tools needed to make choices that promote healthy behaviors and lifestyles. Building your parent network and support system helps you guide your children and their friends as they navigate their growing independence.
So please, join us for an evening of fun and community!
Webster Headlines
WHEN is coming to the end of our first 5-year grant, and we intend to share our results and impact to date with the community in the coming months.
WHEN has the opportunity to apply for a second 5-year federal grant to continue our work, provided we can show that we are making good use of the funds and having a positive impact on our community. If you would like to help the team preparing the grant information, we could sure use the help! We expect to be working on this project from January through April. Please contact Janine to join the grant team.
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.
Cultivating Joy
“Protective factors are conditions or attributes in individuals, families, and communities that promote the health and well-being of children and families.” - ChildWelfare.gov
Joy produces these protective factors: opportunities for prosocial involvement in the community, family, and school; attachment and bonding to the family; recognition of prosocial involvement; emotional control; and interaction with prosocial peers.
By WHEN member, Judi Swanson, LCSW~R
“A flower blooms for its own joy.”
- Oscar Wilde
Oxford Languages defines joy as, “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” As the year of 2024 is upon us, perhaps instead of declaring a resolution, how about focusing on a year filled with joy? An article in Forbes says, “True happiness is not a goal or an outcome, rather it’s a byproduct of how we live our life and interact with the world around us.” Every day provides us with opportunities for joy if we are ready and willing to receive joy.
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, and sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” - That Nhat Hanh
Children are experts at finding joy. By living and being in the moment they find glee in falling snow, a cup of hot cocoa, playing a game, sharing a meal, or seeing a squirrel scamper through the yard. Being mindful, practicing daily gratitude, kindness, taking care of yourself with sleep, eating healthy, and keeping your body active prepare you for joy. The Forbes article continues to say, “True, lasting happiness or joy is a state of mind. A deliberate, learned response to life that can be consciously and proactively cultivated, regardless of the forces outside of ourselves.”
“Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” - Helen Keller
So in this New Year seek joy, see joy, and create joy. Sing, dance, hike, paint, volunteer, bake; take action and do things that fill you up and bring you joy. Marvel at the beauty around you, have belly laughs, treasure your time with family and friends, smile and say hello to people at the grocery store. As you become more joyous, you will spread joy ripples all around you, sparking joy in others too. WHEN wishes all of you a joyous 2024. We are grateful for the ongoing support from Webster citizens in promoting healthy lifestyles and behaviors for our children, teenagers, and community.
Spotlight
Many thanks to our new community partner, Webster's own Guida's Pizzeria at 160 West Main Street. They are the first restaurant to share our message about protective factors with the community through stickers on take out boxes! Here's how it works: When you order pizza, you'll find a sticker with a QR code that leads you to our webpage about strengthening protective factors. We have even added an incentive to sign up for our newsletter while visiting. Check it out next time you order pizza!
Upcoming Meetings
Our next meeting is Wednesday, January 10 at noon. 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.
