Home
Programs
About Susie
View Demo
Book Susie
Books & Products
Resources & Newsletters
FAQ's & Press
Contact Susie
Sign up for monthly
prevention news!
News of Hope email.
 

   

 

                                        

Welcome to May 2009 'News of Hope'
Can't you just feel the end of the school year drawing closer, quickening your heart and exciting your imagination -- SUMMER!!
And all the thrills, fun in the sun, down time to enjoy the things we just don't have time for during the school year :)

It's been an extraordinary school year for LEGACY. We are immensely grateful for the many new and meaningful collaborations in 2008-2009 school year:

PRIDE of Huntington Beach, CA adopted LEGACY OF HOPE® as it's newest offering for middle and high school prevention assemblies;

VISTAGE executive networking added Susie, LEGACY OF HOPE® and DE-STRESS FOR SUCCESS® to speaker offerings to help companies understand the impact of an employee or an employee's teens dealing with alcohol and/or drug abuse and for training in healthy emotional and stress management skills;

NODA - National Orientation Directors Association became a new LEGACY connection - providing college orientation directors unique programming to start new students down a road of healthy lifestyle choices and stress management tools;

Pavillon - No. Carolina treatment center collaborated with LEGACY to bring alcohol and drug prevention and healthy choices to teens in their state;

and many middle schools, high schools and communities around the country committed to reducing underage drinking, gangs, teen pregnancy, AIDS, self-harm and increase academic success, HOPE and dreams in our youth!

THANKS to everyone we have had the joy of collaborating with this school year and we invite you to check for photos along the trail by Clicking Here!


Pictured above:
Pic 1: The Huntington Beach, California non-profit PRIDE sponsors alcohol and drug prevention programs in the district's schools. Here, 3 dedicated members of the PRIDE Board of Directors share the satisfaction of collaborating in April on an evening Community Awareness LEGACY OF HOPE® presentation that drew over 400 parents and their kids! Congrats, PRIDE!

Pic 2: Susie standing with Susan Smith, Chair of VISTAGE executive/management networking group after Retreat program in Foglesville, PA. Susie presented a 3-hr program to the management group that included Emotional Wisdom and comprehensive De-Stress for Success®.

Pic 3: An AWESOME two days was spent at Saint Patricks High School - a 150-year old, all-boys Catholic school in Chicago. 900 boys responded with respect and great energy at the LEGACY OF HOPE® assembly followed by Q&A in 5 health/religion classes. Next day, Susie shared in the annual outing at Wrigley Field for her first live CUBS game! SUPER FUN! Check out FUN pics from Saint Pat's!

Pic 4: Spring was lovely in North Carolina where Susie spoke at four schools throughout the Hendersonville area. Sponsored by Pavillon International - a treatment center for alcohol and drug addictions as well as children and families of alcoholics/addicts programs. Very caring and dedicated staff located in a gorgeous NC landscape. The new Mountain Lodge hotel kindly provided lodging for Susie - beautiful decor and incredible hospitality! Check out Mountain Lodge!


May 2009 NEWS OF HOPE 2007 CONTENTS
. GET TESTED FOR STD'S
. THC IN MARIJUANA Tops 10 Percent
. HELP NOW! SAVE "Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities" Funding
. JOIN Susie on FACEBOOK!



To view past newsletters...

GET TESTED FOR STD'S - COLLABORATION BETWEEN PLANNED PARENTHOOD, KAISER PERMANENTE AND MTV

Recently launched, the Get Yourself Tested program is being promoted to teens and young adults to stop the epidemic of STD's.

According to Planned Parenthood:
"Get Yourself Tested is Planned Parenthood's biggest effort ever to make sure everyone who should get tested for STDs has access to the services they need. In partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation and MTV, many of our affiliate health centers are participating in a public awareness campaign about STDs and, as always, offering low cost or no cost STD testing and family planning services. Click here to learn more.

If you or someone you know is at risk for an STD, click here to find your nearest participating health center.
Sexually active but not sure what tests you might need? We've created a simple online quiz to help you decide.

Planned Parenthood, MTV and Kaiser Family Foundation want to make sure that everyone, especially teens, can get tested, get care, and get the information they need to protect their health. Along with contraception, it's the best way we can slow the spread of HIV and other STDs among sexually active people. Please visit www.GYT09.org to learn more - and share information about this important program with everyone you know."

MTV's www.GYT09.org says, "By the age of 25, one in two young people will get a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Most won't know it. GYT is about taking control of YOUR (sex) life by getting tested - and talking openly about it.
Getting tested is easier than ever before. Urine-based tests are now available for chlamydia and gonorrhea, two of the most common STDs. Rapid HIV tests can provide results in as fast as 20 minutes with a swab inside the mouth. It's YOUR (Sex) Life sums it all up for you, including symptoms (when there are any) and treatment options. What are you waiting for? BRB.GYT Today! So .GYT . Pass It On!"

Take advantage of these supportive organizations to help yourself and your friends.

For many more resources of help or link to Get Yourself Tested

 

_________________________________________________________

            
Average THC in Marijuana Tops 10 Percent, Federal Study Says
On May 14, 2009, CNN reported the results of a federal government study of marijuana potency that found the average THC content in street samples of the drug has now topped 10 percent for the first time last year.

"The average THC level in marijuana has been rising for years, according to researcher Mahmoud ElSohly of the University of Mississippi's Potency Monitoring Project, who predicts that levels of the drug's main psychoactive ingredient will continue to rise for several more years before leveling off at 15-16 percent," states Join Together's own report on the issue.

In 1983, the average marijuana sample contained 4 percent THC, according to ElSohly.

Experts say that experienced users may smoke less of the potent pot to get the same high, but that inexperienced users may not know to moderate their use and risk side-effects like dysphoria, paranoia, and irritability.

"The children I'm most worried about are children who are heavy users ...people who use it on a daily basis," said Lawrence Brain, a child psychiatrist in Maryland.

As reported in Join Together, Dr. Brain said that the findings on marijuana potency were unlikely to change youth behavior. "Telling them it's 10 percent -- three times more potent than what their parents smoked -- is not an argument they are likely to buy into or to even utilize in any constructive sort of way," he said. "I think they do what they do today. I don't think they consider or reflect on what it might have been like 30 years ago."

LEGACY's Comment:
Teens ask Susie after assemblies if smoking pot "socially" or "recreationally" can cause any real problems for them.
Here in lies a legitimate concern for youth smoking pot.
The potency of today's pot is NOT your dad's pot from the 80's.
It is MUCH stronger ant can cause teens to become psychologically dependent, less motivated, lackadaisical about their future, and can diminish cortical brain growth when used in adolescence. In addition, recent studies link a much higher rate of testicular cancer in men who smoked pot since early adolescence.

Use this info to help inform your preteens and teens about dangers of using marijuana to cope with the emotions, stress and social discomfort of adolescence. Help them find a better way!
Get ahead of the problem! Let LEGACY educate your teens in healthy ways to cope with stress and emotions - without pot, alcohol or other drugs.


 
HELP NOW! CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS TO SAVE "SAFE AND DRUG FREE SCHOOLS AND COMMUNIITES"
President Recommends ZEROING OUT the State Grants Portion of the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Program
LEGACY would like to join CADCA (Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America) in alerting every school administrator, counselor, parent and other adult or teen concerned about underage drinking and drug use among our teens that President Obama's proposed budget is recommending the elimination of the entire State Grants portion of the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) program.

CADCA forewarns that the current school based prevention infrastructures would be decimated all across the nation by this "draconian" cut in the SDFSC budget. Eliminating this program has major implications because State SDFSC funds serve as the portal into schools for many substance abuse prevention programs, as well as helping data collection efforts through student surveys.

The prevention of alcohol and drug abuse in our youth cannot afford to see the SDFSC program zeroed out or cut below the current funding level of $294.8 million. Although we have faced similar cuts in the past, if this program is going to survive, we cannot be complacent.

We need YOUR help!

It is only through a sustained and aggressive advocacy from the field that Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities funding to the states will not be lost forever. Both Congress and the Administration must hear from the field en masse if we have any hope of restoring the program.

So LEGACY is joining in to encourage you to fax letters to your members of Congress to ask them to make a minimum funding level of $294.8 million for the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities (SDFSC) program, which is the FY 2009 enacted level, a top appropriations priority.

Please Click here to use CADCA's Capwiz system and fax your legislators TODAY!

***************************************************
WHAT YOU CAN DO - CADCA recommendation:

Using CADCA's CapWiz system, fax the members of your congressional delegation. It is imperative that you flood your members with faxes to ensure that restoring the funding for this critical program is one of their top appropriations priorities. YOUR FAX WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE! The more letters the Hill receives on this issue, the more likely we are to stop this program from being eliminated. After you have faxed the members of your congressional delegation, send this alert to everyone else in your network .

TIMING
Fax the members of your congressional delegation immediately.

CADCA's fax system allows you to automatically fax CADCA's sample letter on this issue to your legislators from CADCA's website. To send faxes to your legislators, go to http://capwiz.com/cadca/home/.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact CADCA personnel:
Kelly Lieupo, Director of Public Policy at klieupo@cadca.org, or
David Kurosky, Public Policy Associate, at dkurosky@cadca.org.


HELP SCHOOLS HELP OUR KIDS
       JOIN Susie on FACEBOOK!

Connecting on Facebook is more cool than I expected!

It's fun to hear bits and pieces of your life's "stuff" when I have a moment on the road! Fun to know you're doing well, had a special experience, even need a little support from your friends.

And it's great having you on the road with me as I wind my way across the country - able to send you links to pics that meant something to me and the wonderful teens and adults I'm meeting along the way.

I invite you to become a FRIEND!
If you're on Facebook, find me at Susie Vanderlip.
If Facebook is something new that you're unsure of, I'm happy to say it doesn't take much of my time at all - but does connect me to faces and people I'd otherwise lose touch with.

Teens - just make sure your parents approve! And it comes AFTER
your homework, right?! It's all about being safe, polite and no bad press/pics about you or your friends!

Facebook - for fun and for free!



TIME TO BOOK LEGACY OF HOPE for 2009-2010!!
This is a cut-to-the-chase message for today's youth - a profound message of hope, emotional wisdom, and resiliency.

LEGACY OF HOPE® stimulates positive communication between schools, parents and teens while motivating young people to healthy choices.

Create awareness and re-ignite HOPE in the lives of children, adults and families - because we all need to know that someone out there understands our struggle and cares.

LEGACY OF HOPE® can help! Give us a call at 800-707-1977 or online.
To Contact Susie and LEGACY NOW

 


Stop and smell the roses, the petunias, and all the garden blooms! Watch for hummers, too! They're good luck :)

Susie Vanderlip, CPAE, CSP - Speakers Hall of Fame inductee
Ken Vanderlip, Ph.D. - Clinical Psychologist

 

 


 
Back Top
Home | Programs | About Susie | View Demo | Book Susie
Books & Products
| Resources & Newsletters | FAQ’s & Press | Contact Susie
© 2006 Legacy Of Hope®. All rights reserved.