Grade: Hope Squad works across all 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grades

Teacher Name: Janelle Bence and Mimi Robb

Description and purpose of grant: 

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United Stated with 44,711 people dying by suicide. 90% of those who died had diagnosable mental health issues, yet there is an overwhelming number of people who did not get the support as needed (2021). In Texas, 3,924 people died by suicide, and it is the 2nd leading cause of death for people between the ages 10-24 (2022).

But, there’s hope.

CoppellISD has responded to these troubling statistics and the need in our district by creating Hope Squads. Hope Squad is a national suicide prevention program from Grant Halliburton that positions students as peer support to identify signs of mental health struggles, actively listen to peers, persuading those in need to get professional assistance, and refer them to the resources needed. In order to achieve this, Hope Squads assume many responsibilities as they collaborate closely with the counseling department, administration, other campus leadership organizations, community partners, parents, and the entire student body. 

With this innovative approach to boost mental health comes much planning, many events, and increased community engagement. Hope Squad initiatives require supplies to help build and sustain a culture that understands how vital the mental health of all stakeholders is and the actions needed to encourage this well-being. As suggested by the Hope Squad curriculum, Hope Squads are expected to host 2 school-wide events as well as 1 community event. Hope Squad also spearheads Suicide Prevention awareness month, It Starts With Hello Week, Hope Week, themes every month to encourage the mission of the squad, various activities and lessons for the student body, meetings with parents, public speakers, and meeting with other Hope Squads from across the state and nation to share new ideas to complete Hope Squad goals.

Hope Squad is asking for your help to purchase much needed supplies in order to fulfill its mission “to prevent suicide through public awareness and education, reduce stigma, and serve as a resource to those touched by suicide.” We, as Hope Squad, understand our lofty goal and all the work ahead of us, but we have bravely accepted this charge understanding all of its challenges. We need your financial support to echo the emotional and organizational support already entrusted to us by the district. We want to be able to host quality events that mirror the respect and gravity of our work. The events hosted with the help of this grant will help to sustain our organization as many of the events will serve as fundraisers so we can continue our activities.

By funding this grant, our campus and Coppell ISD will increase collective engagement of not only Hope Squad members but those they serve, their parents, attendees of events, participants in activities, and community partners. Hope Squad does this by focusing on the development of active listening and meaningful conversation skills that build authentic relationships with one another, their peers, trusted adults, parents, counselors, and other healthcare professionals. Hope Squad is a significant step towards letting everyone know that it is not merely academic, athletic, or UIL-related talents that are valued. Hope Squad redefines success of every learner by acknowledging, encouraging, and celebrating kindness, self-care, and inclusive behaviors.

Implementation process: 

Hope Squad will lead activities for all students through Networking on Flex Fridays. These activities will be centered on monthly themes such as suicide prevention, resilience, self-care, gratitude, optimism, connection, and hope. This grant will help fund supplies needed such as paint, art supplies, clothespins, paper, etc (see itemized list attached).

We have also chosen 3 community events to further our outreach. The scheduling of the events will depend on the financial support from this proposal, but here is the current schedule.

Walk for Hope

Tentatively planned for January through March 2024. Since this is our first year, we hope to have 50-100 registered walkers across grade levels as well as many community members.

Hope Squad will choose an organization centered around mental health to benefit from half of the profits. Participants will ask donors to sponsor them per lap or a flat registration fee. The Walk for Hope will last for about an hour. Families and groups are encouraged to participate together. At the event, we aim to invite community partners for further health and wellness information booths. The event will be highlighted across social media posts across several platforms. We will seek guidance from the Coppell ISD Communications Office. This event will require professional signage, mementoes, stickers, t-shirts, water, snacks, security, and a healthcare professional in case of emergencies. 

Wellness & Craft Fair

Tentatively planned for a Saturday in February 2024. We hope to have over 200 people in attendance. 

Hope Squad understands the value of having a creative outlet. We plan to invite vendors to come display their creations for sale but would also ask health professionals to participate. The event would take place on a Saturday from 10-4 pm. There would be a booth fee to participate. We would publicize the event widely across the community and seek guidance from the Coppell ISD Communications Office. This event will require professional signage, stickers, tape to delineate vendor areas, supplies for craft demos for young children, water, snacks, and security.

Art Bike Parade 

Tentatively planned to happen during Spring Fling, April 3, 2024. Spring Fling has had over 300 attendees. We aim to have over 20 art bikes in the parade since it;s our first year.

We hope to begin publicizing this event in October. We will invite families and organizations across our community to collaborate to create an art bike. The art bike can be painted, mosaiced, and altered as long as it is safe to ride during the Art Bike Parade. There will be a $20 registration fee ($15 for student groups) to enter the parade which will be juried by local artists. We expect to have awards for various age groups and categories. We will be seeking sponsors for the event prizes. This event will require stickers, trophies, and a healthcare professional in case of emergency.

Evaluating Hope Squad’s Impact and Efficacy

This is Hope Squad’s first year in Coppell ISD, and despite the organization’s important mission and purpose, there has been no budget created for its activities and events. It is from these events that Hope Squad can better understand its impact and outreach. Data points will be taken from the following:

• Grant Halliburton collects pre- and post-surveys of members and their parents . If permitted,we will use this data to analyze changes and impact of the program.

• The events themselves will help determine how effective Hope Squad’s outreach is in the community:

  • Were all of the events executed? 

  • How was each event publicized? 

  • What sort of social media engagement is happening?

  • Which other community and district partners were involved?

  • How many attendees?

• The participation of learners, facilitators, and parents for on-campus initiatives like Hello Week, Flex Friday Hope Squad Sessions, etc. will be documented by historians and shared through social media.

  • How many on-campus activities and events happen?

  • How was each event publicized? 

  • What sort of social media engagement is happening?

  • Which other community and district partners were involved?

  • Surveys may happen in partnership with the district.

• Cultivating a culture of destigmatizing discussions of mental health, getting support when needed, working to prevent suicide, and sustaining a community of belonging will be evaluated by numbers of referred students to counselors. 

  • This is assessed through the referral form completed by Hope Squad members and our school counselor.

Hope Squad will continue at New Tech High at Coppell just as other cohorts in Prosper, Jesuit, and Plano. We will be networking with them to create a network of support across the metroplex and hope to connect to build across-district events. Our first connection will be made on October 19, 2023 at the State Hope Squad Conference in Garland.

Items you plan to purchase with grant money 

In order to fulfill our responsibilities and mission as stated by Grant Halliburton, we need supplies for daily operation, campus activities, and events. We have itemized our needs for this school year ($2573.75), but since Hope Squad will continue next year, we are requesting more funding to support our service to our community next year as well ($5,000).

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$3506 raised across all campaigns

No. of Campaigns (1)

Donors

Anonymous

$25.00

•

169 days ago

Anonymous

$5.00

•

170 days ago

Karen Kelley

$25.00

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170 days ago

Todd freeman

tod

$50.00

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170 days ago

Anonymous

$50.00

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171 days ago

Lesley K

Thank you for doing this!

$50.00

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172 days ago

Priya Vernekar

$50.00

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172 days ago

Anonymous

$50.00

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173 days ago

Diana Garcia

Great job, thank you for caring about others.

$50.00

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173 days ago

Carl Townley

So proud of Jasmine!! You're doing a great service to your fellow students.

$100.00

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177 days ago

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