NOVEMBER 2025
Upcoming Events
November 12 at noon - Attend our November coalition meeting in person or online. Find out more or register for a reminder here.
We are currently booking Family Game Nights at WCSD elementary schools. Save the date to attend at your school, or to volunteer if you’re looking for an hour of amazing fun! Sign up sheets and event details will be available closer to the event dates.
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Jan 8, 6:15 p.m. Klem North
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Jan 15, 6:30 p.m. Plank South
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Jan 22, 6:30 p.m. State
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Jan 29, 6:30 p.m. DeWitt
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Mar 12, 6:30 p.m. Plank North
Webster Headlines
Happy birthday to all the WHEN members celebrating in November:
Jennivyn, Nicole, Kathy, Tricia, and Karen!
Webster’s Drug Take-Back event on October 18 collected 2 large barrels of medication and 1 barrel of sharps from Webster area households. Thank you to all who participated. The next national Take-Back day is in April. In the meantime, you can visit the eco park website for information about the pharmaceuticals they accept, including sharps. Thank you to our event volunteers: Penny, Patti, Carolyn, Tom, Jane, Joe, Ginny and Missy!
Webster Schools teacher professional development day, Teachers Teach Teachers, was on 10/10/25. MSgt Joseph Seaver conducted 3 Narcan training sessions there and gave each participant a WHEN bag, pen, rack card and opportunity to join.
WHEN has worked with the University of Rochester and Webster Central School District to bring Above the Influence to Webster middle schools. Above the Influence (ATI) is an innovative substance abuse prevention approach. ATI encourages teens to be above
negative influences (including substance use), develop positive life aspirations and achieve personal goals. ATI was initially developed as a traditional media campaign led by the Partnership for Drug Free Kids. Multiple studies found ATI was effective in reducing teen substance use, particularly marijuana.
In 2013 the University of Rochester (UR) adapted ATI as a middle school prevention program led by carefully trained 8th-grade 'Peer Leaders' with ongoing adult mentoring. This new ATI grew out of the UR's 10 years of experience with 'peer led' prevention programming. An evaluation of ATI in four middle schools in NY found that Peer Leaders reduced fellow students' intentions to use substances and positive attitudes about substance use, particularly among their close friends. We are so excited that this program is underway with Peer Leaders and Adult Advisors in both WCSD middle schools! Many thanks to University of Rochester and WCSD for this effort, and to Janell Anema, for training our Advisors and Peer Leaders! See photos from the training sessions below.
Red Ribbon Week is making a comeback in Webster! Several school and PTSA groups implemented programs this year, and WHEN visited a couple of schools with fun activities as well. We hosted more than 630 visits to our online Red Ribbon Week kit this year, and are pleased to provide these free resources, on-demand, to our community and beyond. This year, we also shared stats on Instagram from the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey in order to normalize healthy choices. See some of our Instagram posts here.
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Photos from Willink and Spry ATI training sessions.
Photo credit: Jen Calus
Quiet Moments of Wonder Grow a Grateful Heart
“Protective factors are conditions or attributes in individuals, families, and communities that promote the health and well-being of children and families.” - ChildWelfare.gov
By WHEN member, Dana Buccieri, MEd
Recently, I was with two very good friends and we were discussing the words wow and awe, the meanings these words held for each of us, and how the two words differ; we all write and speak for a living. We thought about their connection to feelings of gratitude and that without much effort they can stir something within us that brings us joy.
The word wow expresses wonder, excitement, surprise, and humility. It typically can be an expression evoked in response to something we did not affect or create. Sometimes all we have to do is to intentionally pay attention to enjoy these wow moments in our life in order to count our blessings and experience a day’s delight.
David Pollay, co-founder of the International Positive Psychology Association writes about awe:
“For 12 years I have begun my day with the same positive ritual. I wake up and head for the nearest window. I open the curtain and look outside. I begin by observing something in the environment that fascinates me. I immerse myself in the wonder and awe of something that I cannot explain; this first step in my morning ritual reminds me that the world is much bigger than my life and my concerns.”
By immersing himself in wonder and awe, Pollay appreciates the fact that that life is bigger than him! This ritual takes him outside of himself. When we practice acts of gratitude, isn’t that our goal? Counselors, coaches, therapists, and spiritual leaders often discuss the importance of gratitude in our lives, starting and/or ending each day with embracing all that is good. Not sure about you, but I have had extremely strong intentions to use my gratitude journals, but to no avail! I found this talk of wonder and awe encouraging because maybe we just need to tap into our environment and practice taking in all the wonder and awe that surrounds us!
In researching this topic further, I came upon the term awe walk, a walk that intentionally shifts our attention to our surroundings to allow us to be wowed by new details. (The Guardian, Eleanor Morgan Fri 23 Sep 2022).
In a world where we just want to simplify, maybe it really can be that easy. Throughout this month, we practice thankfulness and acts of gratitude. I encourage you and your family to take a weekly awe walk as a way to connect with that act of thanksgiving, going beyond a single holiday.
Here are some ways to look for the wows and awe in your world; please note that gratitude will follow:
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Witness other people’s moral beauty and courage. To begin experiencing more awe, start by seeking out courageous people and powerful social movements.
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Move in unison with others. Try any form of shared movement such as dance, exercise, playing music, singing in a choir, cheering on a sports team, or even walking with a friend.
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Get out in nature. You don’t have to visit the Grand Canyon or the Great Barrier Reef – your local park or forest will do, so long as you’re aware of what’s around you and you think deeply about the experience.
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Listen to or create music. Listening to a symphony, singing in a choir, or playing an instrument can produce feelings of awe.
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Take in visual art or film. Visits to art galleries and museums (in person or online), public art and sculpture, and movies with stunning visual elements can all provoke awe.
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Seek out a spiritual or religious experience. The types of experiences that you personally deem spiritually meaningful are the ones most likely to result in awe.
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Consider a big idea. The process of wrapping your mind around a new concept prompts a process known as cognitive accommodation, which is a key component of awe.
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Witness life and death. The miracle of birth and the tragedy of loss can be tinged with awe, including when they are encountered in memoirs, novels, and other forms of art.
Source: Psyche, How to Experience More Wow - Summer Allen, Published 12 May 2021
“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” - Henri Matisse
Spotlight
Special thanks to Chelsea Keller Elliott, MS, LMFT, Director of Training and Curriculum – Prevention Specialist in Network Health and Prevention Program at University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Department of Psychiatry. She has been instrumental in maintaining a relationship with WHEN over the last several years while working tirelessly to bring Above the Influence to Webster schools. We could not be happier to see this effort finally blossom, and look forward to collaborating on its success. Thank you Chelsea!
Upcoming Meetings
Our next meeting is Wednesday, November 12 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.
Read last month's Coalition Meeting Minutes.
Reminders
November is Lung Cancer Awareness month. Here are some tips for talking to kids about vaping. It’s important for kids to know that particulates and chemicals from these products harm lung health. It may be helpful to remind them that lung health is critical to achieving their goals, especially for athletes. For those wanting to quit, URMC is offering Nicotine Dependence Treatment for all ages. In-person appointments, telehealth, and free Commit to Quit group sessions are all available. Additional resources include: Teen SmokeFree.gov and This is Quitting.