Thrive Chelan Valley Seeks Help from Community to Bring Training to Educators and Volunteers
Information and photo released by Thrive Chelan Valley
Thrive Chelan Valley is partnering with both Lake Chelan and Manson School Districts to bring in high-quality training for educators and Thrive volunteers regarding trauma-invested practices and adverse childhood experiences in August 2020. Officials from Thrive and local school districts are looking for community support to make their vision a reality.
In October, Thrive received $12,000 from the Community Foundation of North Central Washington (via the Regional Impact Grant) to partially support trauma-invested training costs. Thrive’s goal through the GiveNCW campaign is to raise an additional $8,000, bringing the total to $20,000.
Funds raised through the GiveNCW campaign will allow Thrive and local schools to bring in experts, Kristin Souers and Pete Hall, co-authors of Fostering Resilient Learners, who offer resources which support educators and other caring adults in developing strategies which help create healthy, long-term outcomes for youth.
Local school officials estimate that approximately 30% of Chelan Valley’s youth have been exposed to four or more adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ACEs include traumatic events like childhood abuse, neglect, divorce, domestic violence and substance abuse in the home. Research states that a person with four or more ACES is 12.2 times more likely to attempt suicide, 7.4 times more likely to struggle with alcoholism, and 2.2 times more likely to suffer from heart disease.
Thrive Chelan Valley is energized to change the startling statistics above by providing early intervention for local youth. Thrive’s Executive Director, Kayla Helleson, shared her vision regarding this unique opportunity, “We believe that the more adults we have trained with effective strategies to support our youth, the healthier our students, schools and community will be. We encourage our community to support us in this endeavor as we collaborate with our schools to develop proactive approaches that positively impact youth.”
The GiveNCW Campaign opened Thanksgiving Day and runs through December 31st. If you are interested in supporting Thrive’s efforts to provide research-based, trauma-invested training to over 200 adults (mentors, volunteers, teachers, administrators, school staff) please visit the following website today: www.givencw.org.
Thrive Chelan Valley exists to raise awareness, advocate, and empower the community to provide programs and services that meet the needs of Lake Chelan Valley youth. Thrive Chelan Valley is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that utilizes three programs to support youth in Chelan and Manson: Thrive Cares, Thrive Mentoring, and Thrive Teen Center. Visit Thrive’s website to learn more.
