The Lean on Me Project Initiatives are driven by the needs of school communities & the students, families and employees who attend and work there. Collaborations Raise the Bar of Trust & Care for our Community at Multiple Levels.
Trust, respect, leadership, and safety perpetuate learning. The Student Café has three initiatives for schools to choose from to empower, educate, and elevate Emotional/Social support: Student Lunch Groups, Peer-to-Peer Mentor Training, & Tutoring (1-1 and/or small group).
Navigating the education system together transforms a school community for the good. The Parent Café offers three initiatives for different needs: Focus Conversations for Camaraderie, The Parent Academy for Skill Building, & The Resource Guide for Direct Services.
The LOM Team supports teachers, support staff, and school administration with three initiatives that can be mixed and matched: Team Focus Conversations, The SEA (Social/Emotional Awareness) Initiative, Gifting & Wellness & Classroom Supports & MakeOvers.
The LOM team enjoys collaborative partnering with local educational and mental health organizations. We directly support NAMI, The Florida Center, First Step of Sarasota, The Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota & DeSoto Counties, Face Autism, Resilient Retreat, SoarN4, SRQ Strong and other organizations that fit into our mission of healing education!
These are initiatives that just pop up from a conversation that has practical feel good outcomes; they can fall under any of the signature programs. Some examples of our latest Pop-Ups include 10 Minute Chair Massages on In-Service Days or creating a fall pumpkin patch for school beautification.
See the LOM Team in action in our communities!
In this episode, host Kristen Theisen, of The Florida Center, interviews Amy Weinberger, founder of the Lean On Me Project, a non-profit organization that focuses on 'healing' education by providing students and educators with tools that bridge education and mental health.
The Lean On Me Project is a program designation with NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness) to provide the access necessary to bridge mental health wellness and academics. LOM & The Lean on Me Project also has a direct collaboration with Compeer.
Amy Weinberger and Jordan Stonecypher were handpicked by a local donor who wanted to give back to teens. Bob Cohn approached Amy after the Mental Health Awareness Program In Sarasota, FL, One Thing I Wish You Knew (January 2019).
Bob inquired if Amy could create an easily accessible mentoring program for schools in the local area. Amy, of course, responded, "YES." Not knowing where this would lead, she pressed on and in February the Child and Youth Mental Health Environmental Scan was released with the support of the Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation. USF compiled the data. The evidence was readily available and by June 2019, Amy and Jordan were ready to pitch it to the Sarasota County School Board administrators. Since Jordan had completed an internship at Brookside for the 2018-2019 school year, she suggested that the middle school community would greatly benefit from a mentoring program. After meetings with the Brookside Administrative Team and the county, all the boxes were checked off, and the first program launched In October 2019.
Then COVID happened. In response, LOM transformed to a 100% virtual mentoring outreach program for students, teachers, staff, and parents to help graduate students to the next grade and offer support to families trying to motivate their kids. When the new school year began (2020/2021), we continued mentoring partnerships with NAMI, Sarasota Military Academy and Compeer students. In addition, we added a mentor/mentee training program at Tatum Ridge Elementary, a lunch program at Brookside Middle School, teacher initiatives, online book circles, a sleep project, and other creative initiatives dreamt up by principals, assistant principals, and teachers.
Another phenomenal feature of The Lean on Me Project is that it focuses on a different community group each year. For example, 2019-2020 was deemed THE YEAR OF THE STUDENT. School year 2020-2021 was THE YEAR OF THE TEACHER/STAFF. 2021-2022 will be THE YEAR OF THE FAMILY, and 2022-2023 will be THE YEAR OF THE COMMUNITY. The rotation restarts. All initiatives are still available, but there is a special elevation on each community each year.
"There are always miracles gifted to you if you open your eyes!" - Amy F. Weinberger, MSEd
Jordan Stonecypher and Amy Weinberger -
a team for 17 years!
