Erin Dickerson’s Prayer
We easily wear our optimism on our sleeves. We are Optimists after all. The problem is that we use these sleeves of optimism to hide our pain, our struggles, our sorrows, and our fears.
Lord, help us to shed the sleeves we use as covers and instead allow others to see those sleeves that need comfort and assistance. Help us to lead by example, sharing our struggles, asking for help, allowing ourselves to receive the care we all need from time to time, and ending the notion that we need to be strong and to go at it alone.
Amen.
Announcements
- Sue Jessee announced that the CNO Holiday Party will be December 12, 2023, at 6 PM at the Sycamore Creek Country Club. Register to attend until December 5, 2023 at 3 PM, using the Member Calendar.
- Joan Cordonnier reminded us that there is no meeting at noon at Yankee Trace on December 12, 2023, since the Holiday Party is that evening.
- Karl Frydryk announced that so far at the Tree Lot they have sold: 414 trees, 42 door sprays, and 60 wreaths, for a total of $45,000. In three days, we sold half the trees.
- Christy Gariety thanked everyone who has made Adopt-a-Family a success.
On Our Sleeves Movement for Children’s Mental Health, Emily Weitz
Art Hung introduced Emily Weitz, BSW, LSW, the Outreach Coordinator, Community Behavioral Health, from Dayton Children’s Hospital.
Emily Weitz is a Licensed Social Worker with over eight years of experience working with children and families impacted by trauma and mental health challenges. Through the On Our Sleeves Movement for Children’s Mental Health campaign at Dayton Children’s Hospital, Emily is working to provide free mental health educational resources to families in the Dayton region. Emily’s goal is to give caregivers the tools to feel empowered to help their children overcome basic life struggles.
​Mission
The On Our Sleeves Movement for Children’s Mental Health is on a mission to give free, expert-created resources to all U.S. communities so everyone can understand and promote mental health for children.
Vision
Our vision is to build a world where mental health is part of the upbringing of every single child.
Slides and Impact Report
The slide deck has more information than is listed in this article.
You can view the slide deck of the presentation here.
You can view the PDF of the On Our Sleeves Impact report that was on the tables at lunch today here.
Program Team Members
- Emily Weitz, BSW, LSW, the Outreach Coordinator
- Sue Fralick, Director of Community Behavioral Health Services
- Grace Jones, Director of Consumer Branding
- Aliah Williams, Brand Content Manager
Presentation
Emily Weitz said, “I was the recipient of an Optimist Club scholarship. It helped enable my career. In high school I learned how much I loved volunteering. I asked colleges what my major should be with my love for volunteering, and they said it was Social Work.”
“I have the fun job of working to prevent mental health crisis.”
Dayton Children’s is prioritizing mental health. Kids don’t wear their thoughts on their sleeves, what their outside shows may not be what is really going on inside.
On Our Sleeves is a program designed to help break stigmas about mental health and start conversations with kids which builds their mental health.
COVID Pandemic Impact on the Mental Health of Children
- 163% increase in children hospitalized for mental health issues from 2020 to 2021
- 51% increase in emergency department visits for suicide attempts in adolescent girls from 2019 to 2021
- Two time increase in depression and anxiety symptoms in youth during the pandemic
- 33% of high schoolers aid they feel more unhappy or depressed than usual
- 71% of parents said the pandemic has taken a toll on their children’s mental health
- 17/19% of high/middle school students made a plan to attempt suicide
Timeline of On Our Sleeves
- The movement was started in 2018 by Nationwide Children’s Hospital
- In the Spring of 2021, Nationwide expanded the program on a national level by launching the On Our Sleeves alliance, with hospitals as licensees
- Dayton Children’s Hospital is a beta licensee partner and launched its campaign in May of 2021
Why Train Adults?
The primary audience for the On Our Sleeves program is adults. The program educates and makes adults aware of mental health issues. They want to get rid of the stigma of discussing mental health challenges.
- Many adults did not receive social emotional learning education while they were in school
- We want supportive adults to feel empowered to have normal conversations about feelings with children
- Research shows that just one supportive adult in a child’s life can serve as a significant protective factor (people or tools that help you overcome life challenges)
Blog Email Content
Sign up to be on their mailing list to learn when new blog entries appear that will include tips and tricks to raising mentally strong kids. Twice a month email content will be sent to you. Learn practical tips that are easy to do in the moment. You may also read regular social media content on Dayton Children’s channels.
In 2021 there were 2100 email subscribers. They are about to reach 10,000 subscribers.
Why Conversations are Important
- Important relationships in a child’s life include the ones they develop with supportive adults as well as their parent or caregiver
- Together, these adults serve as the child’s foundation during their development and growth into mature adults
- These relationships set the stage for the child’s future relationships
Classroom Champions
Classroom Champions is a community of educators and teachers who are committed to helping their students with mental wellness. It has over three hundred members. All Classroom Champions receive free classroom activities, lesson plans and other resources from experts to boost the mental wellness of kids in all grade levels.
On Our Sleeves is in 180 schools comprised of 50% elementary, 20% middle school, 12% high school, and 18% other.
Guides and Programs Available on the Website
Everything the program offers is available for free from the website.
Guides, Worksheets and Activities
- Gratitude Guide
- Healthy Habits at Home
- Healthy Habits at School
- Back-to-School Checklist
- Conversation Starters
- Emotional Empowerment Writing Prompts
- What Anxiety Looks Like Worksheet
- Color my Emotions
- Thought Challenging Worksheet
- Anxiety Game Plan
- Stress Buster Bingo
- And more!
How You Can Help
On our Sleeves at Dayton Children’s is made possible thanks to generous community grants and individual donors.
Giving to On Our Sleeves at Dayton Children’s helps them continue to come alongside parents, teachers and other caregivers in our community in supporting children’s mental health at an early age.
Your support will directly help fund resources such as:
- Conversation starter card packs, each pack costs about $1
- Classroom kits
- Emotion Explorer activity books
- Creating Connections calendar
- And more mental wellness activities for the community!
Help by Connecting on Facebook
You can share On Our Sleeves posts on Facebook that you can receive by following the Dayton Children’s Facebook page.
Thank You
Thank you, Emily Weitz, for educating us about the On Our Sleeves Movement for Children’s Mental Health.
Welcome Guests
| Guest | Guest Of |
| Darlene Irwin | Ken Irwin |
| Emily Weitz | Speaker |
| Keith Davis | Art Hung |
| Kim Haverstick | Mike Bevis |
| Sue Fralick | Speaker’s Guest |
| Grace Jones | Speaker’s Guest |
New Member Readings and Inductions
| Name | Sponsor | 1st 2nd 3rd Reading or Induction |
| Amy Creech | Deb Ulrich | 1st Reading |
| Tia Papp | Mike Bevis | Induction |
Happy Bucks
| Member | Reason |
| Erin Laurito | Big shout out to Team 6. She is the team 6 captain and they are stepping up and are great! |
| Jeff Busch | Happy to be fully retired and will be attending lunch meetings much more. |
| Debe Dockins | $1 for Tree Lot Team 7 that she is captain of and $1 for Tree lot Team 8 for being great when the two teams worked together. |
| Dick Stevens | Glad tree lot buddies stood him back up after falling during tree lot delivery day. |
| Stephanie Llacuna | Happy and proud of her former colleagues from Dayton Children’s for all the good they are doing with the “On Our Sleeves” program. |
| Stephanie Llacuna | Enjoying being part of Team 2 at the Tree Lot, which she says is the best team! |
| Myron Rheaume | Happy to see Ken and Darlene Irwin at today’s meeting. |
Sergeants at Arms
| Member | Infraction |
| Tim Clemmer | Instructions for tree lot captains said the lock was on the pencil sharpener but there no longer is a pencil sharpener. |
| Scott Langer, Cameron Langer, Bill Stone, Kelly Stone, Larry Lynde, Bob Burkman, Erin Dickerson, Gary Anderson, Paul Stull | President Joan so far has not lost the bell or gavel. These are the usual suspects and they are all slacking. |
| Paul Boeckman | Fined because the sergeant just thinks he needs to be fined. |
| Joan Gruss | Has never been fined, now that is corrected. |
| Paula Harrison | Has never been fined, now that is corrected. |
| Jean Pummill | Has not yet ordered the President’s pin for Joan Cordonnier. There was some kind of rebuttal for this one. |
| Dave Kay | Wearing a sports coat that looks just a bit too much like Christmas wrapping paper. |
| Pam Truitt | Has not been fined. She was afraid it was a bad thing and it is a good thing, congratulations. |
Membership Anniversaries
| Member | Joined | Years |
| Jesse Lightle | November 28, 2006 | 17 |
| Gail Aiken | November 29, 1988 | 35 |
| Liz Fultz | November 29, 2015 | 8 |
| Ted Humphrey | November 29, 2001 | 22 |
| Dan Beck | December 1, 1981 | 42 |
| Gary Smiga | December 1, 1985 | 38 |
Birthdays
| Tom Beery | November 29 |
| Denny Cottle | November 29 |
| Christina Clemmer | November 30 |
| Rick Hartley | December 1 |
| Paul Bowell | December 3 |
| Fran Sheehan | December 3 |
CNO Donations – Since 2013
Click here to see a summary of donations the club has made since 2013
Thank You Notes Received this week
No Thank You Notes received this week