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Healthy Dating
by Dale Herink
Wednesday, Feb 24
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. or
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
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Sales Team Positions Available
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Come hear our plans for establishing a sales team and
selling our parent handbook nationwide on
Monday, February 1st
7:00pm
RSVP 245-7154 or info@operationspirit.org
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Fundraising Event in Planning Stages
Guest Speaker
Bill Oliver
Saturday, March 20th
Next planning meeting: Friday, January 29th 9:30-11:00am ...interested parents welcome! Please RSVP to here.
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| Tell Us What You Think |
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We never forget that we are a "Parent-Driven" organization. We welcome any and all feedback so please don't ever hesitate to share your thoughts, questions or concerns with us.
Just give us a call at
(502) 245-7154
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| Happy New Year Parents!
Congratulations! Well, we survived the holidays, snow days, fog, and now hopefully all of our tweens and teens are back in school. Now it's "OUR" time to catch up! I have been so anxious to send this newsletter and bring you up to date on everything.
Most notably, we've moved from our location in South Oldham High to our National Headquarters in Middletown. We'll be celebrating with a Grand Opening on Monday, February 15, 2010! I'm hoping to see all of you on that big day!
We're also looking forward to March 20th when the developer of Parent-to-Parent, Bill Oliver, will be joining us from Florida for our first big fundraiser. Bill will be our guest speaker and is excited to come to Louisville and meet all of our Parenting 101 graduates!
We're thrilled about these upcoming events and developments...read more below!
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New Headquarters
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We are all moved-in, and love our new space! I can't wait for you to stop in and check it out. We are only about 1 minute from the Walmart and Target in Middletown, so next time you're running around to pick up poster board for your daughter's science project, or black pants for your son's band concert, come see our new Headquarters. We may have the only facility in the country that is dedicated to parents of teenagers, which is pretty cool.
Our new address is:
13029 Middletown Industrial Boulevard
Suite 100
Louisville KY 40223
Our new phone number is:
(502) 245-7154
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GRAND OPENING - PLEASE COME!
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We proudly invite you to our
Grand Opening
Monday, February 15, 2010!
Take a tour, enjoy refreshments and connect with the community as we officially open our doors to Louisville and beyond. Bring friends and neighbors; speakers arrive and media coverage begins at 10:00am. More details to follow!
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New Name |
 Remember, Operation: SPIRIT will be changing our name to Operation: PARENT to more accurately reflect who we are and what we do. We'll make that announcement at our Grand Opening but we wanted you to be the first to know.
Our new road sign has been installed and our new letterhead, business cards, etc. has already been printed and delivered. We're ready to hit the ground running! |
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Help Us Make it Home |
Now that we've had a chance to settle into the new space, we are excited to make it an inviting space for all parents of teens! Our careful planning has been done with the vision of creating a warm, welcoming, hi-tech atmosphere. We also want to pay special attention to the dads in our community, so we're interested in your feedback about how to design our headquarters with them in mind.
I think it is very important that we, as parents of teens, embrace technology. We have plans to equip our facility with state-of-the-art flatscreen TVs for training purposes, and have submitted a grant request to SAM's Club for the donation. We also hope to have a "computer lab" so parents can take on-going classes about MySpace, Facebook, internet filters and whatever else comes down the pike.
We are in need of round tables (that seat 6 to 8) with matching chairs for our 2nd floor. This is where we will hold future speaker events and our 1st fundraiser event on March 20th! Please keep us in mind if you have any connections to office furniture outlets.
Special thanks again to Paul Lichtefeld, Sr., Laura and Paul Lichtefeld, and to all of the generous volunteers and donors who have helped make this space a reality, and develop into a working headquarters! Having 5,000 SF of space to work from has energized us beyond imagination. |
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Recent Publicity |
We've been getting lots of publicity lately! WHAS-TV 2-minute interview on January 5thWBKI-TV 2-minute interview on January 6thInsight Channel 2 6-minute interview, running Fanuary 21-Feb 3Courier-Journal Neighborhoods, Wednesday January 13thWe have added some of these spots to our website, so click here if you'd like to check them out. (Here's something I learned from this experience...never dye your hair the night before you're going on TV! Oh my gosh...I'll share the details with you later!)
Here's the really good news...everyone suddenly seems very interested in our teens and the teen culture. We celebrate that because once we get people talking, we can raise awareness! Please keep encouraging your friends to take one of our classes or attend a speaker event. We want to reach as many parents as possible, so no parent has to worry about losing their teen to drugs, alcohol, suicide, depression, violence or anything else! |
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Smell The Coffee Speaker Events |
Next Speaker Event: Healthy Dating by Dale Van Fleet Herink February 24th 10:00-12:00noon, or 6:30-8:30pm Open to both parents and their teens!Click here to registerCome learn the dating basics all teens need to understand: open and honest communication, personal boundaries and respect in relationships. Help your teen know the dynamics of healthy relationships for young people and how they can help themselves or a friend who is being abused. Parents will explore how to create a safe environment for disclosure from their teen and then how, as parents, they can respond. Our "Wake Up and Smell The Coffee" speaker series is off to a great start! Our last speaker, Dr. Brady Burns, was absolutely phenomenal. He spoke about teenage addiction to drugs and alcohol and here are some notes from his presentation:
Notes from Dr. Brady Burns presentation
Parents need to understand the disease of addiction in order to treat it properly (Just like we need to know if their sore throat is viral or bacterial). It's a family illness...everyone gets sick.
It is chronic, progressive and fatal, but treatable.
90% of the population can socially handle alcohol. 10% of the population is born with a difference in brain chemisty.
If your child/teen is messing with drugs/alcohol, Dr. Brady recommends you (1) change playmates (2) change playpens (3) change play things. He also recommends The Morton Center in Louisville. Ask to speak with Jennifer Stern.
Nature vs. Nurture...genetics will play out.
If addiction or alcoholism runs in your family, education is key. Tell your teen the risk factors (impaired judgment, impaired brain development, etc.) Deal with your kids straight up...the truth is best. What's the treatment? ABSTINENCE.
Resources:
Louisville: 502-451-1221 Lexington: 859-373-0077
The Hazleton Foundation: Center City, Minnesota
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Keep on parenting, you're not alone!
Jean Schumm & Staff
Operation: SPIRIT
Supportive Parents Involved
in Raising Incredible Teenagers
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THIS WEEK'S PARENTING TIP:
Spring break is just around the corner. It's the perfect time to re-group as a family. It's tempting to "ship your teen off" when they're invited to go on spring break with their friend's family but you'll never get this time back. If it isn't possible to spend Spring Break together as a family, make sure whoever your teen is going to spend time with shares your values and plans on supervising the entire time. (Hey...maybe they can take a Parenting 101 class before they head to Panama...they just might change their mind about that trip!) | |
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