May is Mental Health Awareness Month! That means a jam-packed month ahead for us. We hope you join us for some of these amazing and educational events.
Image Description: The image has a light blue background with dark blue speckles. There is an illustration of a brain. The left side is made up of a variety of flowers which are different colors, including red, white, orange, yellow and pink. There is a butterfly on one of the flowers. The right side is pink brain. There is white writing that says "There is hope even when your brain tells you there isn't."
Upcoming:
Forest Hills 5K
Image Description: A black and white banner has a background image of people running in a 5K. The closest part of the image shows someone's legs, with one foot lifted up as if running. They are wearing light colored shoes with dark laces. In the top left corner is the multi-color green Forest Hills Foundation for Education 5K logo, a hexagon with "FH" wearing a graduation cap. On the right side of the image is a green foot print, and it says "Step Into Wellness" (this year's theme) and the date May 13, 2023 Join us and the Forest Hills Foundation for the 14th annual Forest Hills 5K on Saturday, May 13th at Nagle Middle School! This yearly event raises money to support Forest Hills students in their social, emotional, physical and intellectual well-being. The 5K starts at 8:30 AM and the After-Party runs from 9 AM - 11:30. There will be food trucks, local businesses and organizations, activities for the whole family & more! Survivor Cards will have a booth set up around the track with resources, a card writing station and info on upcoming events. Want to join our Survivor Cards team to walk or run the 5K?
Anderson Family Wellness Day
Image Description: The right hand corner of this white banner image contains streaks of the colors yellow, blue and green. The top left has the Parkside Christian Church logo, a small white plant growing on a green circle. The other font reads "Anderson Family Wellness Day" in black font. Join us at the Anderson Family Wellness Day, Saturday, June 10th at Parkside Christian Church, 9 AM - 2 PM! Plan to see multiple community resources indoors and out with free health screenings included. They'll have something for everyone to encourage a healthier you! All ages are welcome to attend this free event. Survivor Cards will have a booth set up with mental health resources, a card writing station and info on upcoming events!
Ongoing:
Survivor Cards Needs Your Nominations!
Image Description: A card sits open in the middle of this image. It has a drawing of two hands forming a heart shape and some flowers. It has a handwritten message that reads "Dear Survivor, You're a beautiful human being and I'm proud of you for continuing to go on, even when it's difficult. It takes a lot of courage to do that and you're incredibly strong. I support you, no matter where you are in your healing journey. You matter and are loved. I wish you the best on your future endeavors. Sincerely, Your Friend" On either side of the card are mental health resource cards, a mental health sticker and an affirmation card. When you nominate yourself, someone else or an organization to receive Survivor Cards, you're helping us send them a little hope, a little healing and a little solidarity. Nominate yourself, someone you know or an organization that serves survivors here! It takes less than 5 minutes! Each card contains a handwritten note, mental health resources and snail mail goodies such as stickers and affirmation cards. We can provide cards to individuals and organizations anywhere across the world! We rely on your nominations to get these cards in the hands of those who benefit from them the most. Want to share the word for potential volunteers or recipients?
Hot Girls Walking - Anderson
Image Description: A yellow-ish orange background has abstract bright and pastel orange blobs. In the center is an illustration of 3 older women walking together. Two are wearing glasses and one walks with a purse, another walks with a cane. The information below is written in dark blue font. Our walking group is having a blast with this warmer weather! Meet us Thursday, May 4th at 5:45 PM at the Beech Acres Park for our next group walk. We meet at the amphitheater. All women of all abilities and ages are welcome! Want to join our private Facebook page to plan a buddy walk and get to know the other walkers? Click here!
Volunteer Appreciation Corner:
Image Description: A white card with orange squiggles and yellow and orange bold handwriting reads in all caps "I'm So Glad You're Still Here" Thank you to the Xavier University students of SWEAT (Strong Women Exercising and Thriving) for creating and sending us these colorful and thoughtful Survivor Cards!
Image Description: A bright yellow card has softer yellow doodles of stars and squiggles. Red cursive handwriting reads "I'm proud of you" We can't wait to fill them with resources and snail mail goodies and get them distributed!
Gratitude Challenge
Image Description: An illustration depicts a person with pink skin and long black lowing hair, wearing a long sleeve yellow shirt, reaching their hands to touch their chest. They are smiling with their eyes closed and there are red hearts and clouds around them. For mental health month, we'd like to challenge you practicing 30 days of gratitude! What is gratitude? "Gratitude, derived from the Latin word ‘gratia,’ means gratefulness or thankfulness. In its simplest form, gratitude refers to a ‘state of thankfulness’ or a ‘state of being grateful’." It doesn't mean pretending that everything is okay, that we have everything we need or that we aren't enduring stress. Neural mechanisms that are responsible for feelings of gratitude have grabbed attention (Wood et al., 2008). Studies have demonstrated that at the brain level, moral judgments involving feelings of gratefulness are evoked in the right anterior temporal cortex (Zahn et al., 2009). People who express and feel gratitude have a higher volume of gray matter in the right inferior temporal gyrus (Zahn et al., 2014). Long story short, gratitude can be a natural antidepressant when practiced. "By consciously practicing gratitude everyday, we can help these neural pathways to strengthen themselves and ultimately create a permanent grateful and positive nature within ourselves." Source: The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Effects on the Brain by Madhuleena Roy Chowdhury, BA So what's the challenge? Start small. Every morning or evening in the month of May, try to write down 3 things that you're grateful for. They don't need to be huge or tremendous, and they can be repetitive! Personally, I find myself grateful every day that I have a roof over my head, a healthy relationship with my partner, and 4 furry cats to cuddle with in the evening. Other Links: Benefits of Gratitude: 28+ Surprising Research Findings The Gratitude Tree for Kids How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain
Recent:
Take Back the Night
Image Description: Survivor Cards' founder Alyson Wick stands behind her table. They are a small-framed non-binary femme person, wearing their blonde hair in a pony tail and glasses. They are wearing a pink graphic shirt and rainbow skirt. The table has a purple tablecloth with "Survivor Cards" in blue font and an open envelope with a teal heart seal, like our logo. Behind Alyson is Washington Park, with green grass and trees. The table has resources and flyers. Thank you to Take Back the Night Cincy/NKY for the opportunity to set up at their resource fair portion on April 20th! We spoke with so many brilliant survivors and lots of the folks who serve them. The heat and wind didn't stop us! If you'd like to write or receive a card, or learn more about our card drives and programming options, email us at survivorcards@gmail.com
Anderson Mental Health Collaborative Fundraiser
Image Description: A banner image contains photos from the "Go Green for Mental Health" fundraiser night, including a large photo showing people enjoying food around tables and listening to music, and a smaller image showing members of the Anderson Mental Health Collaborative smiling at the camera. At the bottom of the image are all the participating organizations of the collaborative. In the top left corner is an illustration of green fireworks and white font reading "Thank you!" The Anderson Mental Health Collaborative would like to pass on their sincere thanks to everyone who attended the Go Green for Mental Health fundraiser event at Big Ash Brewing on Thursday, April 27th! We raised an awesome amount of funds for future programming and collaboration efforts, broke the stigma, enjoyed delicious food and the music of Dan Varner. Collaborative Organizations:
Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce
Forest Hills School District
A Better Approach to Memory Care
Task Force on Youth Mental Health
Step Up Anderson Township
1N5.org
Survivor Cards
Ben Kimble Foundation
Anderson Parks
Forest Hills Foundation for Education
ME Lyons YMCA
Beech Acres Parenting Center
Child Focus
If you missed out on purchasing your mental health shirt, you can still order one from U-Sports and they'll contact you when it's ready for pick-up! A portion of purchases supports Anderson Mental Health Collaborative.
Thanks once again for reading our newsletter!
We are so grateful to spread education and information with our community and beyond, on trauma, PTSD and effective response.
If you would like to potentially partner or collaborate, please contact Alyson Wick at survivorcards@gmail.com
- Alyson Wick, Founder & President of Survivor Cards