We have had a busy month at Discovering My Purpose. From new board members to new graduates to new teachers, we have a lot to share.
We also have quite a few stories about the foster girls, which helps give a picture of what classes are like and how our program is making a difference. I will have you know that one of these fun stories includes a record-setting marshmallow!
Thanks for sharing this update with others who might be interested. We appreciate you helping spread the word.
DMP Welcomes New Board Members
We are pleased to introduce our new board members. They are an amazing and diverse group of people. (listed below in alphabetical order)
Michael Buchanan, founder of Tin Roof Films and creator of a nationally-adopted anti-bullying curriculum. He lives in Atlanta, GA and will help DMP develop its strategy for partnering with high schools.
Clare Elliott, is an award-winning HR consultant and marketing strategist. She works for Mployii, lives in Dubai and will help DMP with marketing execution.
Matt Gellis is founder and CEO of Keystone Analytics, an organization focused on website analytics and business intelligence. He lives in Atlanta, GA and will help DMP with its back office technology and help track its analytics.
Alicia Graham recently left her role as Global Director, Customer Marketing for Kimberly Clark to establish a coaching business. She lives in Langley, VA but is originally from Australia. Alicia will help DMP with business strategy.
Jo-Ann Rolle is Dean of the Business School at Medgar Evers College. She lives in Highlands, New Jersey and will help DMP develop its strategy for partnering with universities.
Rachael Todd is founder of RKT Consulting, an organization focused on health and well-being. She lives in Cocoa Beach, FL and will help DMP with fundraising.
Three Groups of Graduates in Three Days!
We have a new first! The week of March 31, we had THREE classes graduate. On Sunday, it was the girls from Jesse’s House, the group foster home. Thanks so much to Keystone Analytics for sponsoring this class and for Alan Ungar for his purchase of the data projection unit! Your support means a lot to us.
On Monday, we graduated teens from the Drake House, the homeless shelter. And on Tuesday, it was a group of new Discovering My Purpose teachers! Congratulations to Darya Aberback, Ben Cohen, Kaitlin Lundeen, and Annestacia Thompson, our new certified teachers. Interested in teaching? Let us know!
All students take a pre- and post-program emotional assessment survey. Once we aggregate that data, we will share the impact with you. To date, the areas we have seen the most shift in have been levels of anger, anxiety and depression. (Thankfully, we have seen those levels go down, not up!) Let's hope we get similar results with these grads. This is the first time we have offered the program to foster kids, so we are excited to see how they respond to the program.
A Story of Trauma And Recovery
About halfway through the program at the group foster home, Summer joined us. A sixteen-year-old, Summer had recently been found living in a tent and had been exposed to severe abuse. While living in the tent, she didn’t go to school for months.
Summer entered the shelter on a Wednesday and when I spoke to staff on Sunday, they shared that she pretty much hadn’t been out of her room for days. That first Sunday, she came out and joined us for around 20 minutes of class. In light of her challenges, that felt like a real win to me.
The second week, she was with us the entire class. She seemed more relaxed and at home. Her light brown hair was shiny and clean. She wouldn’t volunteer to participate, but when I prompted her, she would respond. I asked her for the best part of her week (the way we start every class – appreciative inquiry in action!) and she replied, “The visit from the therapy dog.” I asked, “So you like animals?” She nodded yes.
Our program is strengths-based. We often talk about what we are good at and our results from Values in Action Top Strengths survey. This scientific survey consists of a list of 24 strengths. Summer hadn’t taken this yet, so I asked what she thought her strengths were. She smiled and shrugged.
She took the survey and her VIA strengths are now in. Her top strength? Gratitude. Second through fifth – humility, prudence, forgiveness and honesty. I wasn’t surprised by humility and prudence. Almost half of the foster girls have prudence in their top five strengths. When you have a tough life, I guess you learn the benefits of playing it safe. It was gratitude and forgiveness that amazed me after what she has been through.
To round out her second class with us, we created vision boards as our group activity. Her vision board (pictured here) has a variety of “I am” affirmations, such as “I am kind” and “I am open-hearted.” She also included a sheet on the “5 Feels of Failure.” A couple of other quotes she chose were “That’s NOT what happened.” And “Shining your light is really important right now.” Plus, she likes LifeSavers. 😊
Summer has a long way to go, but I appreciated the ability to contribute to her healing journey.
More Jesse’s House Stories:
The Marshmallow Challenge – Setting Records!
At the end of each class we choose a fun activity to do. Here’s what happened when we did the Marshmallow Challenge. We have paired this activity with our “Power of Failure” lesson, since those who fail fast and move on do best at this challenge. (According to studies, one of the best performers? Kindergarteners. One of the worst? MBA grads.)
Nutshell is that each team has 20 pieces of uncooked spaghetti, string, tape, and a marshmallow. I drew a shamrock on the top of the marshmallow, since it was St Patrick’s Day!
The rule is that you need to use the supplies to support the marshmallow and the marshmallow needs to be whole at the top of the spaghetti. I give them 15 minutes to do this and then we measure who has the tallest structure.
One of my teams started working for a few minutes and then asked me to confirm that those were the only two rules. When I said yes, they promptly stood up on the table and taped their structure from the ceiling. They then extended the spaghetti down to the table top so that it just touched.
The result from those wily, creative girls? Their structure was 50” tall – a class record … by a lot. I loved their out-of-the box thinking and I told them so as I snapped this picture.
Mindful Pause
As part of our strengths-based focus, we teach the kids a meditation called the Mindful Pause. Going into a stressful situation, we invite the kids to take three belly breaths and think about which of their top VIA strengths they will use. I then ask the kids for situations that they find stressful.
They listed the ones you would expect, like taking a test and going into a party. And then one of the girls said, “Going into court.” That’s part of the reality of any kid in foster care – that they have to routinely check in with a judge. It is nice to know that we have provided them with a tool to make these tough experiences easier on them.
Best Part of the Week
At the beginning of every class, we start by talking about what the best part of their week was. This is all about helping them see what is working in their lives, to help them shift to a more positive frame of mind. During the first class, a lot of kids just sit there. Toward the end of class, things get easier and the ideas came more naturally.
There were two things that I noticed the girls would share routinely. Evie shared, “Seeing my sister in court.” None of these girls have been placed with their siblings and most of them have brothers and sisters. In this way, court is both a stressor and a highlight for these kids, since it is a chance to reconnect with family.
The other thing they list as a best part of their week? Spending time with their mentors. These are people who act in the role of big sisters to bring them to the movies or bowling…whatever. The girls really enjoy the relationships they build them. If you are called to volunteer, consider doing something like this. It’s a way to make a hard time a bit easier for these kids.
Who Inspires You?
In one of the lessons, I ask students who inspires them. When I have asked this question in the past, I often get responses like, “Oprah,” “Beyonce,” or “Michelle Obama.” In class with the foster girls, the answers were, “my brother,” two instances of “my sister,” and “my dad.”
I found it sweetly poignant that these kids weren’t living with their families, and yet family members are the ones they listed as their inspirations.
I will tell you who inspires me. These kids. They have lived through such tough things, but they still laugh, love their families, and are sweet and generous to each other.
In Closing
I hope that these stories have inspired you about the work that we are doing. As always, we appreciate your support. If you know of other organizations that can benefit from the education we provide, thanks for putting us in touch.
Laura Garrison-Brook
CEO
Discovering My Purpose
A nonprofit organization focused on helping youth live happier, more meaningful lives