Organizing an AFSP National Survivors of Suicide Day Conference Site
Best Wishes
From Alaska to Australia, and Kansas to Kenya, survivors of suicide loss will be joining together at over 275 conference sites in 20 different countries this Saturday for National Survivors of Suicide Day. In recognition of the growing international reach of this powerful program and the work of the organizers around the globe, starting next year it will be known as International Survivors of Suicide Day.
On behalf of AFSP, we wish you all the best with your conference on Saturday and we thank you for your dedication to helping survivors of suicide loss.
« DAY-OF CONFERENCE REMINDERS
· Test DVD, all audio-visual equipment and webcast connections as early as possible. Webcast testing can begin as early as 9:00 a.m. EST. Details can be found on page 3 of the Technical Information Sheet. (Bring a hard copy of this sheet with you on Saturday.)
· Attendee Evaluation Forms – Please ask each attendee to fill out an Evaluation Form. 40 of these were mailed to the primary organizer for each site and a copy is also attached to this message. Please make additional photocopies as necessary. We review every single evaluation and take feedback very seriously.
« AFTERWARDS
· Mail Completed Attendee Evaluation Forms to AFSP Survivor Initiatives Dept, 120 Wall Street, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10005.
· Attendee List – Please send a list of all attendees (or copies of your local registration forms) with attendee contact information (full name, address, phone, & email) so AFSP can share information on future resources and programs for surviving suicide loss.
· Organizer Feedback – We will ask each organizer to complete a short online survey on Monday. Please take a few moments to fill it out and share your feedback.
· Save the Date & Spread the Word: International Survivors of Suicide Day is Saturday, November 19, 2011.
Please be in touch if you have any questions at all. We are here to help.
Thanks, and take good care,
Joanne and Rebecca
Joanne Harpel, Director of Survivor Initiatives -jharpel@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 ext. 32.
Rebecca Thorp, Survivor Initiatives Manager - rthorp@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 ext.33.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
120 Wall Street, 22nd Floor
New York, NY 10005
Fax (212) 363-6237
www.afsp.org
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Organizing an AFSP National Survivors of Suicide Day Conference Site
E-Bulletin - Final Details
Over 275 sites are participating in the 12th Annual National Survivors of Suicide Day on Saturday, November 20, 2010. Thank you.
« TO DO TODAY
· If you do not receive a package containing the DVD and attendee handouts by the end of the business day today, please email rthorp@afsp.org right away.
· Don’t wait - test the DVD using the equipment you plan to use on the day of the event.
· If you haven’t done so already, give your local technical organizer the Technical Information Sheet (also attached). Make sure you have a printed copy with you on National Survivors of Suicide Day.
· If you plan to show the webcast, you must perform tests in advance today, Monday, November 15th and the morning of November 20th. Details are on pages 2-3 of the Technical Information Sheet.
« TO DO ON NATIONAL SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE DAY
· Test your DVD, all audio-visual equipment and webcast connections. Testing details can be found in the Technical Information Sheet.
· Set up room(s) - Make sure you have chairs for attendees. If you plan to have food, activities, or discussion groups, make sure you have space allocated. It’s also nice to have tissues in each room.
· Post large, clear signage that says “National Survivors of Suicide Day” outside the building. You may also need additional signage inside the building, especially if you are having discussion groups, activities, or food in different rooms.
· Greet attendees - We highly recommend having at least 1 greeter at the door, plus a greeter who can take down the names of attendees and hand out any name tags or materials you may be providing.
· Attendee Evaluation Forms – Ask each attendee to fill out an Evaluation Form. 40 of these forms were mailed to the primary organizer and a copy is also attached to this message. If you expect more than 40 attendees at your site, please photocopy more. We read every single evaluation, and take feedback very seriously.
« AFTERWARDS
· Attendee Evaluation Forms –Mail forms back to AFSP Survivor Initiatives Dept, 120 Wall Street, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 and let us know how many attendees you had.
· Attendee List – Please send a list of all attendees (or copies of local registration forms) with attendee contact information (full name, address, phone, & email) so AFSP can share information on future resources and programs.
· Organizer Feedback – We will email each organizer a short questionnaire on Monday, November, 22rd. Please take a few moments on that day to share your feedback with us so we can continue to improve National Survivors of Suicide Day.
· Save the Date for Next Year– Saturday, November 19, 2011
Please be in touch if you have any questions at all. We are here to help.
Thanks, and take good care,
Joanne and Rebecca
Joanne Harpel, Director of Survivor Initiatives -jharpel@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 ext. 32.
Rebecca Thorp, Survivor Initiatives Manager - rthorp@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 ext. 33.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
120 Wall Street, 22nd Floor
New York, NY 10005
Fax (212) 363-6237
www.afsp.org
E-Bulletin - Final Details
Over 275 sites are participating in the 12th Annual National Survivors of Suicide Day on Saturday, November 20, 2010. Thank you.
« TO DO TODAY
· If you do not receive a package containing the DVD and attendee handouts by the end of the business day today, please email rthorp@afsp.org right away.
· Don’t wait - test the DVD using the equipment you plan to use on the day of the event.
· If you haven’t done so already, give your local technical organizer the Technical Information Sheet (also attached). Make sure you have a printed copy with you on National Survivors of Suicide Day.
· If you plan to show the webcast, you must perform tests in advance today, Monday, November 15th and the morning of November 20th. Details are on pages 2-3 of the Technical Information Sheet.
« TO DO ON NATIONAL SURVIVORS OF SUICIDE DAY
· Test your DVD, all audio-visual equipment and webcast connections. Testing details can be found in the Technical Information Sheet.
· Set up room(s) - Make sure you have chairs for attendees. If you plan to have food, activities, or discussion groups, make sure you have space allocated. It’s also nice to have tissues in each room.
· Post large, clear signage that says “National Survivors of Suicide Day” outside the building. You may also need additional signage inside the building, especially if you are having discussion groups, activities, or food in different rooms.
· Greet attendees - We highly recommend having at least 1 greeter at the door, plus a greeter who can take down the names of attendees and hand out any name tags or materials you may be providing.
· Attendee Evaluation Forms – Ask each attendee to fill out an Evaluation Form. 40 of these forms were mailed to the primary organizer and a copy is also attached to this message. If you expect more than 40 attendees at your site, please photocopy more. We read every single evaluation, and take feedback very seriously.
« AFTERWARDS
· Attendee Evaluation Forms –Mail forms back to AFSP Survivor Initiatives Dept, 120 Wall Street, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10005 and let us know how many attendees you had.
· Attendee List – Please send a list of all attendees (or copies of local registration forms) with attendee contact information (full name, address, phone, & email) so AFSP can share information on future resources and programs.
· Organizer Feedback – We will email each organizer a short questionnaire on Monday, November, 22rd. Please take a few moments on that day to share your feedback with us so we can continue to improve National Survivors of Suicide Day.
· Save the Date for Next Year– Saturday, November 19, 2011
Please be in touch if you have any questions at all. We are here to help.
Thanks, and take good care,
Joanne and Rebecca
Joanne Harpel, Director of Survivor Initiatives -jharpel@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 ext. 32.
Rebecca Thorp, Survivor Initiatives Manager - rthorp@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 ext. 33.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
120 Wall Street, 22nd Floor
New York, NY 10005
Fax (212) 363-6237
www.afsp.org
Tuesday, November 09, 2010
Subhash Children Society is a registered N.G.O. under Society Registration Act 21, 1860. The society is engaged in the field of child protection for last three decades. At initial stage the society was formed and actively run by the children between the age group 14 yrs to 16 yrs in year 1980. Now, these children are in adult category and posses vast experience in the field of child protection and over all development of the child. In order to make best use of their working experience now the society is running several projects related to over all development of street children, disabled children, Railway platform children. Child labour, orphaned, beggar children, school children and other needy children in the society.
Under the different projects run by the society children are being supported in obtaining proper education, good health, vocational training in different courses, by offering them good living conditions, by protecting their rights. The society is also actively engaged in providing other services to needy children like shelter, their rehabilitation, emergency help through Child Line (1098) project, awareness about child rights, awareness about environment, protecting them from child abuse and extend them best possible support in order to ensure them justice.
Subhash Children Soceity wishes you a very happy diwali.
Thanks.
(KAMAL KANT )
President
Subhash children society /
328/7,NLC,Kidwai Nagar Kanpur
Uttar Pradesh India -208011
Phone 91-0512-2612847,2614312, MO.9235820719
subhashchildren@rediffmail.com
subhashchildren@sifymail.com
www.subhashchildren.org/ www.subhashchildren.com
Under the different projects run by the society children are being supported in obtaining proper education, good health, vocational training in different courses, by offering them good living conditions, by protecting their rights. The society is also actively engaged in providing other services to needy children like shelter, their rehabilitation, emergency help through Child Line (1098) project, awareness about child rights, awareness about environment, protecting them from child abuse and extend them best possible support in order to ensure them justice.
Subhash Children Soceity wishes you a very happy diwali.
Thanks.
(KAMAL KANT )
President
Subhash children society /
328/7,NLC,Kidwai Nagar Kanpur
Uttar Pradesh India -208011
Phone 91-0512-2612847,2614312, MO.9235820719
subhashchildren@rediffmail.com
subhashchildren@sifymail.com
www.subhashchildren.org/ www.subhashchildren.com
Monday, November 08, 2010
“Kitney log? kaun janta hai ? hazaro lashey thikaney lagayi hai mainey”. (How many people, who knows ? I have taken care of thousands of dead bodies). The frail, lost, over 80 years old Habib murmurs on a recent visit to the footpath where he still lives in Delhi.
Nothing has changed in Habib’s life, except there is now a small horn on the tricycle he uses for picking up bodies from different places. He is still on the footpath with his blind wife Amna begum. The little girl who shocked me 19 years ago with her statement - “when I feel cold I hug the dead body and sleep. It does not trouble me, it does not turn around” is a grown up women today. Habib still gets news of dead bodies to be picked up. Like every year, he is worried about winters, since the number of deaths doubles almost on a daily basis but Habib is more worried about what will happen after him? Who will pick up a person who comes to Delhi in search of a job and dies on the roads due to lack of woolens.
I have been following Habib for many years now. His story and GOONJ’s in-depth work on clothing over the years has reaffirmed my belief that ‘winters are a much bigger disaster than earthquake or floods'. The irony is that it’s a regular, known disaster, more people die in winters due to lack of clothing and we don’t even call it an unnatural death, maintain records or give compensation. Earthquake or floods don’t discriminate between rich and poor. but on the other hand in winters, in the same city one person dies because of cold while I survive.. enjoy my life.. at the same place, in the same temperature. The culprit is not winters or cold, it’s the lack of clothing which kills people..
w
GOONJ has been working towards making clothing a matter of concern through its nationwide movement Vastra- Samman for the last many years and I’m happy that it has started getting
its due place. A basic, ignored need of the human kind is now getting a wider attention of agencies, media, corporates, government and the larger public.
ejk
The recently concluded Joy of Giving Week was a good success; a wide spectrum of people and organizations joined the initiative. More recently Whirlpool and GOONJ have launched Ek Jodi Kapda; a pan India campaign. It’s a vibrant, mass scale effort to talk about the issue, raise awareness to a larger audience and collect material. It’s your chance to join the initiative. The collection centers in many cities are active till November 10th. Do visit www.ekjodikapda.com to find out more about the campaign and your nearest collection centre. Do write back at mail@goonj.org or call up 011-41401216 in case you need more information.
Meanwhile 50 people have joined GOONJ’s TEAM 2000. We are hoping to bring together a strong team of 2000 people who commit a sum of Rs. 10,000/- (about $ 250) per annum i.e just about Rs. 800/- a month to GOONJ. Feel free to commit less or more. There is no compulsion or restriction that you have to do this for a lifetime.. as long as you have faith in our work or can do it- do it . This will make us self sufficient in terms of our regular expenses while any extra funds generated will be used for growth, expansion and wider replication.
g
Given a vast base of friends and well wishers, we are confident that this is achievable. We do hope that like all other initiatives TEAM 2000 is also largely volunteers driven. Apart from signing up we certainly want you to talk to your friends, relatives and colleagues to join the team..
A cheque/draft in the name of GOONJ with your full name, address, Pan No., email ID & Tel. Number can be sent to J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi-76. Please click here to download the form. All the financial contributions in India are tax exempted u/s 80G of IT act. Write back to mail@goonj.org if you want to make an online transfer.
Keep referring www.goonj.org and join us on facebook . We’ll soon be uploading the reports on the Joy of Giving Week and our Leh Floods relief work on the website.
Over to you..
With best
anshu
Anshu Gupta (Ashoka Fellow)
Founder Director
GOONJ..
Tel:- 011- 26972351, 41401216
Add- J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi-76
Website:- www.goonj.org
Unsubscribe || Opt-out || Re-subscribe || Subscribe
Sent By: Goonj J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi, 110076
Nothing has changed in Habib’s life, except there is now a small horn on the tricycle he uses for picking up bodies from different places. He is still on the footpath with his blind wife Amna begum. The little girl who shocked me 19 years ago with her statement - “when I feel cold I hug the dead body and sleep. It does not trouble me, it does not turn around” is a grown up women today. Habib still gets news of dead bodies to be picked up. Like every year, he is worried about winters, since the number of deaths doubles almost on a daily basis but Habib is more worried about what will happen after him? Who will pick up a person who comes to Delhi in search of a job and dies on the roads due to lack of woolens.
I have been following Habib for many years now. His story and GOONJ’s in-depth work on clothing over the years has reaffirmed my belief that ‘winters are a much bigger disaster than earthquake or floods'. The irony is that it’s a regular, known disaster, more people die in winters due to lack of clothing and we don’t even call it an unnatural death, maintain records or give compensation. Earthquake or floods don’t discriminate between rich and poor. but on the other hand in winters, in the same city one person dies because of cold while I survive.. enjoy my life.. at the same place, in the same temperature. The culprit is not winters or cold, it’s the lack of clothing which kills people..
w
GOONJ has been working towards making clothing a matter of concern through its nationwide movement Vastra- Samman for the last many years and I’m happy that it has started getting
its due place. A basic, ignored need of the human kind is now getting a wider attention of agencies, media, corporates, government and the larger public.
ejk
The recently concluded Joy of Giving Week was a good success; a wide spectrum of people and organizations joined the initiative. More recently Whirlpool and GOONJ have launched Ek Jodi Kapda; a pan India campaign. It’s a vibrant, mass scale effort to talk about the issue, raise awareness to a larger audience and collect material. It’s your chance to join the initiative. The collection centers in many cities are active till November 10th. Do visit www.ekjodikapda.com to find out more about the campaign and your nearest collection centre. Do write back at mail@goonj.org or call up 011-41401216 in case you need more information.
Meanwhile 50 people have joined GOONJ’s TEAM 2000. We are hoping to bring together a strong team of 2000 people who commit a sum of Rs. 10,000/- (about $ 250) per annum i.e just about Rs. 800/- a month to GOONJ. Feel free to commit less or more. There is no compulsion or restriction that you have to do this for a lifetime.. as long as you have faith in our work or can do it- do it . This will make us self sufficient in terms of our regular expenses while any extra funds generated will be used for growth, expansion and wider replication.
g
Given a vast base of friends and well wishers, we are confident that this is achievable. We do hope that like all other initiatives TEAM 2000 is also largely volunteers driven. Apart from signing up we certainly want you to talk to your friends, relatives and colleagues to join the team..
A cheque/draft in the name of GOONJ with your full name, address, Pan No., email ID & Tel. Number can be sent to J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi-76. Please click here to download the form. All the financial contributions in India are tax exempted u/s 80G of IT act. Write back to mail@goonj.org if you want to make an online transfer.
Keep referring www.goonj.org and join us on facebook . We’ll soon be uploading the reports on the Joy of Giving Week and our Leh Floods relief work on the website.
Over to you..
With best
anshu
Anshu Gupta (Ashoka Fellow)
Founder Director
GOONJ..
Tel:- 011- 26972351, 41401216
Add- J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi-76
Website:- www.goonj.org
Unsubscribe || Opt-out || Re-subscribe || Subscribe
Sent By: Goonj J-93, Sarita Vihar, New Delhi, 110076
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Organizing an AFSP National Survivors of Suicide Day Conference Site
November E-Bulletin
Dear Organizers,
Thanks to your dedication, there are over 260 sites this year in a total of 19 countries and more survivors than ever before will benefit from this powerful program.
As always, the step-by-step guide to organizing a conference site contains detailed information on what to do leading up to National Survivors of Suicide Day: www.afsp.org/survivorconference, but if you have any questions at all, please be in touch.
« THE BROADCAST
· All sites: If you haven’t done so already, give your local Technical Organizer the Technical Information Sheet.
· DVD: All Primary Site Organizers will receive the DVD in the mail no later than Thursday, November 11th. (If you do not receive the DVD by the end of the business day on Nov. 11th email rthorp@afsp.org.) Test the DVD right away, preferably using the same equipment you plan to use on November 20th.
· Webcast: If you are showing the webcast, you must perform tests in advance on November 15th and the morning of November 20th. Details are listed on page 2 in the Technical Information Sheet.
« MATERIALS
Along with the DVD, each Primary Site Organizer will receive the following items for distribution to attendees. (Again, If you do not receive the package by the end of the business day on Nov. 11th, email rthorp@afsp.org right away.)
* Attendee Evaluation forms.
* Flyers depicting the specially-designed collection of AFSP Remembrance Jewelry (proceeds help support survivor programs)
* Flyers describing the Out of the Darkness Overnight and Community Walks.
For Additional Materials:
1. Click here to print out articles and resources free of charge.
2. Materials may also be ordered for a nominal charge by visiting the AFSP Store. Be sure to place your order TODAY so you receive everything in time.
« PREPARE FOR THE ‘DAY OF’
AFSP’s free 90-minute broadcast will provide the main program content for your conference, but many organizers also add local programming like break out support groups, food, healing activities, or speakers. See Ideas for Local Programming for suggestions.
· Plan to arrive early. The Primary Organizer and the Technical Organizer should plan to arrive at least 90 minutes before the conference begins to test the DVD, all audio-visual equipment and webcast connections (if applicable). Other volunteers can be asked to arrive at least 1 hour in advance to help set up room(s), post signage, & greet attendees.
· Finalize plans for greeting attendees. First impressions count. We highly recommend having at least 1 greeter at the door, and 1 greeter who can take down the names of your attendees and hand out materials and optional items like name tags or colored ribbons/beads that signify loss relationship.
· Finalize room set up. Make sure you have enough chairs plus all the necessary tech equipment. If you plan to have food, activities, or break out groups, make sure you have space allocated. It’s also nice to have tissues in each room.
· Create large, clear signage that says “National Survivors of Suicide Day” for outside the building. You may also need additional signage inside the building, especially if you are using multiple rooms.
Please be in touch if you have any questions at all. We are here to help.
Thanks, and take good care,
Joanne and Rebecca
Joanne Harpel, Director of Survivor Initiatives -jharpel@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 ext. 32.
Rebecca Thorp, Survivor Initiatives Manager - rthorp@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 ext. 33.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
120 Wall Street, 22nd Floor
New York, NY 10005
Fax (212) 363-6237
www.afsp.org
November E-Bulletin
Dear Organizers,
Thanks to your dedication, there are over 260 sites this year in a total of 19 countries and more survivors than ever before will benefit from this powerful program.
As always, the step-by-step guide to organizing a conference site contains detailed information on what to do leading up to National Survivors of Suicide Day: www.afsp.org/survivorconference, but if you have any questions at all, please be in touch.
« THE BROADCAST
· All sites: If you haven’t done so already, give your local Technical Organizer the Technical Information Sheet.
· DVD: All Primary Site Organizers will receive the DVD in the mail no later than Thursday, November 11th. (If you do not receive the DVD by the end of the business day on Nov. 11th email rthorp@afsp.org.) Test the DVD right away, preferably using the same equipment you plan to use on November 20th.
· Webcast: If you are showing the webcast, you must perform tests in advance on November 15th and the morning of November 20th. Details are listed on page 2 in the Technical Information Sheet.
« MATERIALS
Along with the DVD, each Primary Site Organizer will receive the following items for distribution to attendees. (Again, If you do not receive the package by the end of the business day on Nov. 11th, email rthorp@afsp.org right away.)
* Attendee Evaluation forms.
* Flyers depicting the specially-designed collection of AFSP Remembrance Jewelry (proceeds help support survivor programs)
* Flyers describing the Out of the Darkness Overnight and Community Walks.
For Additional Materials:
1. Click here to print out articles and resources free of charge.
2. Materials may also be ordered for a nominal charge by visiting the AFSP Store. Be sure to place your order TODAY so you receive everything in time.
« PREPARE FOR THE ‘DAY OF’
AFSP’s free 90-minute broadcast will provide the main program content for your conference, but many organizers also add local programming like break out support groups, food, healing activities, or speakers. See Ideas for Local Programming for suggestions.
· Plan to arrive early. The Primary Organizer and the Technical Organizer should plan to arrive at least 90 minutes before the conference begins to test the DVD, all audio-visual equipment and webcast connections (if applicable). Other volunteers can be asked to arrive at least 1 hour in advance to help set up room(s), post signage, & greet attendees.
· Finalize plans for greeting attendees. First impressions count. We highly recommend having at least 1 greeter at the door, and 1 greeter who can take down the names of your attendees and hand out materials and optional items like name tags or colored ribbons/beads that signify loss relationship.
· Finalize room set up. Make sure you have enough chairs plus all the necessary tech equipment. If you plan to have food, activities, or break out groups, make sure you have space allocated. It’s also nice to have tissues in each room.
· Create large, clear signage that says “National Survivors of Suicide Day” for outside the building. You may also need additional signage inside the building, especially if you are using multiple rooms.
Please be in touch if you have any questions at all. We are here to help.
Thanks, and take good care,
Joanne and Rebecca
Joanne Harpel, Director of Survivor Initiatives -jharpel@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 ext. 32.
Rebecca Thorp, Survivor Initiatives Manager - rthorp@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 ext. 33.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
120 Wall Street, 22nd Floor
New York, NY 10005
Fax (212) 363-6237
www.afsp.org
Friday, October 29, 2010
Hi,
My name is Sam, a blogger from Mumbai. Although the blog is a reflection of my gay thoughts, it has large number of straight audience (men and women) as well.
As you know, there was a series of suicides in US because they had to suffer homophobic abuse. And October 20th is selected as the day to commemorate them.
Homophobia is everywhere; India is no exception. And many Indians must have gone through similar hardships. On this occasion, I'm planning to do a post on how homophobic abuse is a reality for Indians as well. If any of you have been unfortunate to be at the receiving end of this hatred, I request you to mail me your experience.
Also want to ask if we are doing something special on October 20th, it would be great if I could get information on this too.
I'm planning to put this post up by 17th. Do mail me at samurain4u@gmail.com before 16th.
Every information regarding my blog can be accessed from my signature below. Look forward to your reply.
Regards,
Sam
--
The Straight-Friendly Gay Blog
Website | Facebook | Twitter
My name is Sam, a blogger from Mumbai. Although the blog is a reflection of my gay thoughts, it has large number of straight audience (men and women) as well.
As you know, there was a series of suicides in US because they had to suffer homophobic abuse. And October 20th is selected as the day to commemorate them.
Homophobia is everywhere; India is no exception. And many Indians must have gone through similar hardships. On this occasion, I'm planning to do a post on how homophobic abuse is a reality for Indians as well. If any of you have been unfortunate to be at the receiving end of this hatred, I request you to mail me your experience.
Also want to ask if we are doing something special on October 20th, it would be great if I could get information on this too.
I'm planning to put this post up by 17th. Do mail me at samurain4u@gmail.com before 16th.
Every information regarding my blog can be accessed from my signature below. Look forward to your reply.
Regards,
Sam
--
The Straight-Friendly Gay Blog
Website | Facebook | Twitter
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Organizing an AFSP National Survivors of Suicide Day Conference Site
October E-Bulletin
National Survivors of Suicide Day is Saturday, November 20th
Over 210 of you have registered conference sites – thank you. If you haven’t already done so, please Register Your Site as soon as possible to add it to the list of participating cities.
The 2010 step-by-step guide has detailed instructions on how to organize a site, but if you have any questions or concerns, please be in touch. We are here to help.
« GETTING READY
If you haven’t done so already, the following are high priority items:
· Publicize, Publicize, Publicize! Local publicity is essential to attract attendees For ideas, sample fliers and more, see the Publicity Toolkit in the appendix at www.afsp.org/survivorconference.
· Give your local technical organizer the 2010 Technical Information Sheet.
· Place any orders for brochures or books from the AFSP Online Store no later than Friday, October 29th. (Sites outside of the continental U.S. will need to place orders no later than Friday, October 22nd.)
« FINALIZE ‘DAY OF’ LOGISTICS
As you know, the only requirement for the day is to show AFSP’s 90-minute broadcast. You are serving the community simply by organizing a place for survivors of suicide loss to gather together in healing. Any other aspects of your conference– local speakers, food, discussion groups, activities – are optional. A list of ideas can be found in the appendix at www.afsp.org/survivorconference.
Prepare opening comments. The Primary Organizer (or a volunteer) should offer a short welcome, explain the purpose of the day (see Key Messages*) and give a quick overview of what attendees can expect. This sets the tone for the rest of the day. You don’t have to be a polished speaker to give a sincere welcome, but do practice a bit with colleagues, friends, loved ones, or a mirror if you aren’t used to public speaking.
Candle Lighting Ceremony. The opening of the broadcast includes a candle lighting ceremony, and all sites are warmly invited to participate. You’ll need two candles in candlestick holders, and matches. If your location does not allow open flames, you can use flameless candles, which are available for purchase from stores like Target and Kmart.
Volunteers. Make sure all your volunteers have assigned tasks for the day and that they are wearing something (a pin, ribbon, or nametag) so that attendees know who the volunteers are. Thank your volunteers in your opening and/or closing remarks.
Finalize plans for greeting and registration. First impressions count. We highly recommend having at least 1 greeter at the door, and a table of at 2 volunteers who can greet attendees warmly, take down registration information (at a minimum - name, mailing address, email address), answer questions, direct people to restrooms, and hand out materials and optional items like name tags or color-coded ribbons/beads that signify loss relationship. (For details on optional items, see Ideas for Local Programming in the appendix at www.afsp.org/survivorconference.) It is very important to have enough people at the registration table so that signing in and welcoming goes smoothly. Attendees will feel more relaxed if they see that everything is well-organized and under control. It is also helpful to have someone at the registration table throughout the day to answer questions.
We hope to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns.
Thanks, and take good care,
Joanne and Rebecca
Joanne Harpel, Director of Survivor Initiatives -jharpel@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 ext. 32
Rebecca Thorp, Survivor Initiatives Manager - rthorp@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 x33.
ØIf you don't wish to receive future emails about organizing a conference site, just let us know by return email.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
120 Wall Street, 22nd Floor
Phone (212) 363-3500
New York, NY 10005
Fax (212) 363-6237
www.afsp.org
October E-Bulletin
National Survivors of Suicide Day is Saturday, November 20th
Over 210 of you have registered conference sites – thank you. If you haven’t already done so, please Register Your Site as soon as possible to add it to the list of participating cities.
The 2010 step-by-step guide has detailed instructions on how to organize a site, but if you have any questions or concerns, please be in touch. We are here to help.
« GETTING READY
If you haven’t done so already, the following are high priority items:
· Publicize, Publicize, Publicize! Local publicity is essential to attract attendees For ideas, sample fliers and more, see the Publicity Toolkit in the appendix at www.afsp.org/survivorconference.
· Give your local technical organizer the 2010 Technical Information Sheet.
· Place any orders for brochures or books from the AFSP Online Store no later than Friday, October 29th. (Sites outside of the continental U.S. will need to place orders no later than Friday, October 22nd.)
« FINALIZE ‘DAY OF’ LOGISTICS
As you know, the only requirement for the day is to show AFSP’s 90-minute broadcast. You are serving the community simply by organizing a place for survivors of suicide loss to gather together in healing. Any other aspects of your conference– local speakers, food, discussion groups, activities – are optional. A list of ideas can be found in the appendix at www.afsp.org/survivorconference.
Prepare opening comments. The Primary Organizer (or a volunteer) should offer a short welcome, explain the purpose of the day (see Key Messages*) and give a quick overview of what attendees can expect. This sets the tone for the rest of the day. You don’t have to be a polished speaker to give a sincere welcome, but do practice a bit with colleagues, friends, loved ones, or a mirror if you aren’t used to public speaking.
Candle Lighting Ceremony. The opening of the broadcast includes a candle lighting ceremony, and all sites are warmly invited to participate. You’ll need two candles in candlestick holders, and matches. If your location does not allow open flames, you can use flameless candles, which are available for purchase from stores like Target and Kmart.
Volunteers. Make sure all your volunteers have assigned tasks for the day and that they are wearing something (a pin, ribbon, or nametag) so that attendees know who the volunteers are. Thank your volunteers in your opening and/or closing remarks.
Finalize plans for greeting and registration. First impressions count. We highly recommend having at least 1 greeter at the door, and a table of at 2 volunteers who can greet attendees warmly, take down registration information (at a minimum - name, mailing address, email address), answer questions, direct people to restrooms, and hand out materials and optional items like name tags or color-coded ribbons/beads that signify loss relationship. (For details on optional items, see Ideas for Local Programming in the appendix at www.afsp.org/survivorconference.) It is very important to have enough people at the registration table so that signing in and welcoming goes smoothly. Attendees will feel more relaxed if they see that everything is well-organized and under control. It is also helpful to have someone at the registration table throughout the day to answer questions.
We hope to hear from you if you have any questions or concerns.
Thanks, and take good care,
Joanne and Rebecca
Joanne Harpel, Director of Survivor Initiatives -jharpel@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 ext. 32
Rebecca Thorp, Survivor Initiatives Manager - rthorp@afsp.org or 212-363-3500 x33.
ØIf you don't wish to receive future emails about organizing a conference site, just let us know by return email.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
120 Wall Street, 22nd Floor
Phone (212) 363-3500
New York, NY 10005
Fax (212) 363-6237
www.afsp.org
Befriending centers in Srilanka do their bit for Suicide Prevention Day
Head office-We were able to get the same sponsor as last year, DFCC bank to sponsor the ‘flag, leaflet and poster campaign’ for 2010. These were distributed to all branches island wide. It was also decided to continue this campaign for a week starting from the 10th September. Some Public awareness progs were conducted before the 10th.
Colombo-
Held a Media conference on the 9th Sep. at the centre where they highlighted the media guidelines for journalists when reporting suicides. (especially targeting journalists because of the recent spate of teenage suicides and copycat suicides) Founder member made the journalists aware of ‘Sumithrayo’ and ‘Suicide’ and the services offered. The role of the head office and the Rural Programme where they work in over 80 villages was also discussed.
Training new volunteers; is a challenging task with the many young, talented, knowledgeable young people joining the centre. (They wish to know if there are new strategies in training new vols?) They find that most of them have gone through excellent training progs, workshops and even study courses such as counseling etc.
Katunayaka – Visited public areas in groups handing out flags, posters and handouts making them aware of ‘World Suicide Prevention Day’. This way they were able to hold informal discussions re the many issues they faced in their daily life, including school children.
Areas visited were bus stands, markets and town centre.
A huge problem they face is the lack of volunteers. Most of the volunteers are retired but are committed. What they need are younger volunteers to bring some life into the centre.
Mawanella –Conducted an awareness prog. To A level and O level students from five schools in the area. A very good response received. Three professional speakers and volunteer Hema conducted the programme. Hema’s presentation made the students aware of ‘Sumithrayo’ and the free service we offer and ‘Suicide’.
Flags, Posters and handouts were also distributed.
Panadura – the major event was pinning the first flag to remember world suicide prevention day on the first lady of our country.
Flags and tills were distributed among private schools, Police station and the base hospital along with Sumithrayo posters and brochures.
Panduwasnuwere –Distributed Posters, Flags and handouts. The volunteers printed their own leaflet which described Sumithrayo and services in a simple way to be easily understood by villagers and school children. Also making them aware of the dangers of pesticides and cautioning the people marketing these products.
Conducted programmes for young adults.
They hope to conduct a programme at the Mental Hospital for Doctors and staff.
Kandy. Publicity re Sumithrayo was given by a popular radio programme 2 days prior to 10th September. Also advertised the Awareness programme they hope to conduct on Saturday 18th September at the Police auditorium for the public and all police personal attached to Kandy. Flag, posters and handouts will be distributed at this event.
Kurunegala- conducted awareness prog. At base hospital and distributed flags, posters and leaflets. The volunteers conducted the same prog. on the 12th to the people in the market place. Distribution of flags, posters and handouts were given after conducting prog for school children and teaching staff from a village with a high rate of suicide deaths.
Matale- One week prior to 10th September posters were pasted in the Matale town. Flags and leaflets were distributed among the staff working in government and mercantile sectors. The first flags were pinned on two respected citizens of Matale. 10th Sep. fell on a very important Muslim festival day. The volunteers conducted an awareness session after the prayers outside the mosque. This resulted in the priest requesting the volunteers to conduct a programme to a group of people selected by the priest.
Kohuwela- Flags and leaflets were distributed at bus stands and while traveling on buses especially on routes taken by buses passing their centre. School children immediately visited the centre after these reading the leaflets and talking with volunteers.
Lunugamvehera- distributed flags, handouts and pasted the posters in villages and town. Informal discussions took place while distributing same.
Head office-We were able to get the same sponsor as last year, DFCC bank to sponsor the ‘flag, leaflet and poster campaign’ for 2010. These were distributed to all branches island wide. It was also decided to continue this campaign for a week starting from the 10th September. Some Public awareness progs were conducted before the 10th.
Colombo-
Held a Media conference on the 9th Sep. at the centre where they highlighted the media guidelines for journalists when reporting suicides. (especially targeting journalists because of the recent spate of teenage suicides and copycat suicides) Founder member made the journalists aware of ‘Sumithrayo’ and ‘Suicide’ and the services offered. The role of the head office and the Rural Programme where they work in over 80 villages was also discussed.
Training new volunteers; is a challenging task with the many young, talented, knowledgeable young people joining the centre. (They wish to know if there are new strategies in training new vols?) They find that most of them have gone through excellent training progs, workshops and even study courses such as counseling etc.
Katunayaka – Visited public areas in groups handing out flags, posters and handouts making them aware of ‘World Suicide Prevention Day’. This way they were able to hold informal discussions re the many issues they faced in their daily life, including school children.
Areas visited were bus stands, markets and town centre.
A huge problem they face is the lack of volunteers. Most of the volunteers are retired but are committed. What they need are younger volunteers to bring some life into the centre.
Mawanella –Conducted an awareness prog. To A level and O level students from five schools in the area. A very good response received. Three professional speakers and volunteer Hema conducted the programme. Hema’s presentation made the students aware of ‘Sumithrayo’ and the free service we offer and ‘Suicide’.
Flags, Posters and handouts were also distributed.
Panadura – the major event was pinning the first flag to remember world suicide prevention day on the first lady of our country.
Flags and tills were distributed among private schools, Police station and the base hospital along with Sumithrayo posters and brochures.
Panduwasnuwere –Distributed Posters, Flags and handouts. The volunteers printed their own leaflet which described Sumithrayo and services in a simple way to be easily understood by villagers and school children. Also making them aware of the dangers of pesticides and cautioning the people marketing these products.
Conducted programmes for young adults.
They hope to conduct a programme at the Mental Hospital for Doctors and staff.
Kandy. Publicity re Sumithrayo was given by a popular radio programme 2 days prior to 10th September. Also advertised the Awareness programme they hope to conduct on Saturday 18th September at the Police auditorium for the public and all police personal attached to Kandy. Flag, posters and handouts will be distributed at this event.
Kurunegala- conducted awareness prog. At base hospital and distributed flags, posters and leaflets. The volunteers conducted the same prog. on the 12th to the people in the market place. Distribution of flags, posters and handouts were given after conducting prog for school children and teaching staff from a village with a high rate of suicide deaths.
Matale- One week prior to 10th September posters were pasted in the Matale town. Flags and leaflets were distributed among the staff working in government and mercantile sectors. The first flags were pinned on two respected citizens of Matale. 10th Sep. fell on a very important Muslim festival day. The volunteers conducted an awareness session after the prayers outside the mosque. This resulted in the priest requesting the volunteers to conduct a programme to a group of people selected by the priest.
Kohuwela- Flags and leaflets were distributed at bus stands and while traveling on buses especially on routes taken by buses passing their centre. School children immediately visited the centre after these reading the leaflets and talking with volunteers.
Lunugamvehera- distributed flags, handouts and pasted the posters in villages and town. Informal discussions took place while distributing same.
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