Day of Caring

This Friday, September 27th, marks the United Way Day of Caring annual food drive. I believe this is the 21st year that the United Way has sponsored this event. Each year Vantage Career Center plays a big part in this event. Vantage not only provides the facility for the food sorting and organizing but the students and staff at Vantage also provide a lot of man power on Friday. Food barrels have been placed all around town at various businesses. On Friday, these barrels will be picked up by our Vantage students and brought to the garages at Vantage. The food will be sorted and organized by several volunteers and many of our students. The goal for this years event is 45,000 items. The food will be disbursed between the Salvation Army, Trinity Friends Church, and the Van Wert Cooperative Ministries Food Pantry.

There will also be a blood drive held on Friday at Trinity Friends Church. The goal is to collect 185 units of blood. The drive is from 8 am to 6 pm. We already have several of our students signed up to donate on Friday.

I am always so impressed with the amount of donations that our staff and students provide to this great event. I am looking forward to Friday just to see the amount of donations and to see our students working so hard on that day. If you haven't had a chance to donate and would still like to, you can bring your items in all this week. There are several signs around the building that specify which items they are in particular need of. If you have any questions, please see Ms. Font in the Health Information Management lab. This is also a reminder that we will have $1 JEANS DAY AND $1 HOMESCHOOL/VANTAGE T-SHIRTS on Wednesday this week. With the money raised that day, we will be able to present the United Way with a monetary donation.

I would like to close with a final thought from Ms. Diane Font who is spearheading this Day of Caring for Vantage. She states that "  I am passionate about this event and I am so lucky to work with all of you here at Vantage. I am always in awe of our students and staff and what we are all capable of doing for each other and our community. Many of us may have never needed a hand up from our community, but if you ever find yourself in this dark place, events like the Day of Caring make you very aware of the help available to us all. I was devastated in 2002 after a F-4 tornado took everything from my family. I was very grateful our lives were spared that day. Where do you turn when your house, vehicles, belongings and even dignity are lost in one moment? For me, it was this community. The United Way, The Red Cross and my community of once complete strangers helped me. Wow, was that a humbling experience! I hope my help on this day is somehow just my heart being thankful to this place I call home for helping me after that experience, without judgement or prejudice. Please help our students understand any of them could and may someday need help from The United Way. They could in fact already be helping someone they know that is struggling or is in need of that hand up on this Day of Caring. This is definitely a teaching moment that can really have an impact on our students lives. My heart sends a sincere thank you to every staff member here at Vantage for your help on this event every year. We have an impact, each and every one of us! It takes a village and VANTAGE stands out LOUD AND PROUD within this one!

Please Ask

This month is National Suicide Prevention Month.  This link takes you to a short 3 minute video clip with information related to suicide.  It's intended audience is for the parents of teens, but it applies to kids too.  I am going to ask you to please take the time and watch it.  Please.

I recognize that the video is simple, not overly emotional, but wow does it hit on so many of the key messages related to suicide.  Most of all, the importance of asking.  The feeling of being alone with your thoughts, your feelings, your loneliness, your hurt, your pain, and not being able to see any way out is a key risk factor for teens having thoughts of suicide.  So ask.  Ask the people around you, "Are you ok?" Ask, "Are you having thoughts of killing yourself?"  Ask, "I care about you a lot and I want to help keep you safe. So I feel like it's important to ask, 'Are you having thoughts of suicide?'"  And then listen.

If the answer is yes, then it is time to act.  Get your family member or friend support and help.  Something needs to change in his/ her life so that they don't have to feel this way.  And if they say no, but your gut instinct is that something is wrong - trust yourself and still seek support.  You know the people in your life best.  You know when something is wrong with your friend.  You know when they are hurting or not acting like themselves.  There is never any harm in pulling more support into their life... and it may truly end up saving their life!

If someone is in immediate danger of taking his/ her own life, please call 911 or go directly to an Emergency Room.  If you aren't sure of the level of danger, you can also call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or use the Crisis Text line by sending text to 741741 - both numbers are available free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you have concerns about a friend while you are at school, please come and see me or one of the other counselors at Vantage.  We are here to help!  What you and your friend are going through matters to us and you could be helping to save their life by speaking up.

Appreciation

Today is September 11th. To most of us, that is all we have to say and we instantly have memories of that day 18 years ago. It's hard to believe that most of our students were not even born yet when the twin towers went down in New York, the result of a terrorist attack. For those of us who were around back then, we still carry very vivid memories. We remember what we were doing the moment we saw the news reports and continued to watch the news throughout the day. Driving in this morning, I was listening to the radio and the stories that people were sharing about that day. As memories came back, I couldn't help but look around at all the beautiful corn fields and bean fields and I start thinking how really lucky we are to live in such a great country. The sun was shining and the air was clean and crisp. The sky was slightly cloud covered with a hint of some possible rain this afternoon. It made me stop and think. It made me appreciate all that we really have.

I hope that each of you take the time today to appreciate the blessings that we have. The ability to go to the school or the job of our choice. To earn a skill that will make you very successful in the future. Most of us drove in today using our own car or maybe you rode in a bus that is provided free for all students. There are so many things that we utilize throughout the day or interact with during the day that many people in the world have no access to. We take for granted our clean water, flush toilets, abundant food supplies and our freedom. I hope that even if you weren't around when the terrorists attacked us, that you would understand what happened and look around at our world today. It's easy to be saddened by a lot of things that go on around the world everyday but I hope that you will take some time to look around and appreciate some of the great things that we have available to us everyday. We need to appreciate our freedom and the people who make that happen: our military, police officers, firemen and public servants.

Today brings back a lot of sad memories but it is also a day to appreciate the things we have. I enjoyed my ride in this morning and observing all the beauty that surrounded me. I though of 9/11 and all the families that were impacted and then appreciated my family and loved ones. As so many people think of their loved ones who were lost on that day, I think of my family members who have died and I appreciate the memories I have of them. I appreciate the job I have and the staff that I get to work with. I hope all of you appreciate the people that surround you each and every day. Tomorrow is not guaranteed for anyone. Make the most of this day and tell someone that you appreciate, how glad you are that they are a part of your life.

In closing, I just want to say there is one other thing that we appreciate around here at Vantage. That is our students. We appreciate all of you that chose to come here for your final years of high school. We appreciate how you respect the staff, how you take your hat off coming in the building, how you push your chairs in after lunch. We have a great bunch of students this year and like every year, we have a special day where we let them know how much we appreciate them. This Friday, rain or shine, we will have an afternoon of fun and games for all of our students. We hope you enjoy this time and realize how much we really do appreciate you. Thanks