The Kim Foundation’s Year in Review

The Kim Foundation takes time to reflect on the past year’s accomplishments and growth by remembering our biggest moments from 2017.

January – The Kim Foundation presented to 30 classes of 7th & 8th grade students at Lewis & Clark Middle School in Bellevue. The presentations focused on mental health, suicide prevention, and healthy coping strategies.

The foundation was honored at Metro Magazine’s Big Event with an award for Best Event: Best Speaker/Guest from the, “A Time for Hope & Healing” luncheon held in 2015 with Kevin Briggs.

February – The foundation worked resource booths at many schools’ parent-teacher conferences and health fairs while sharing suicide prevention information.

February also brought the addition of a new employee, Janae Shillito as Project Coordinator.

March – Staff members participated in AFSP’s Day at the Capitol and met with Senator Robert Hilkemann to discuss suicide prevention efforts in Nebraska.

The first LOSS conference was held in Omaha this month. Jill Hamilton, The Kim Foundation’s Senior Project Coordinator served as the co-chairperson of the event. The conference was open to the community with special trainings for LOSS team members, chaplains, and providers. Over 200 people attended the three day conference which brought in Dr. Frank Campbell, the founder of the LOSS model.

April – Executive Director, Julia Hebenstreit and Jill Hamilton had the opportunity to attend the National Council for Behavioral Health Conference held in Seattle, Washington.

The 2017 Annual Nebraska Behavioral Health Conference took place in Lincoln and the foundation participated by hosting a booth. The staff was also able to attend many educational workshops throughout the conference.

The foundation participated in C & A Industries’ Corporate Health Fair and the Aureus Nursing’s Health Fair held at their Lakeside building.

May – The foundation announced its art and creative writing contest for students in grades
6 – 12. In recognition of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, students from Douglas and Sarpy counties were invited to participate in the, “Hope and Healing through Creativity” contest.

Suicide prevention presentations were given to all the students at Duchesne Academy. Other presentations included two Lunch & Learns for employees at C & A Industries’ Corporate and Lakeside buildings.

The Metro Area Suicide Prevention Coalition celebrated its first anniversary. The coalition was started by Region 6 and the foundation.

June – The School Mental Health Summit was held on June 9th and foundation staff was very involved in the planning of the event. Moving forward, the foundation is partnering with ESU #3 to lead the Nebraska School Mental Health Initiative.

The interns at C & A Industries invited the foundation to an ice cream social to share its mission and day-to-day work with the group.

July – The summer RESPECT training was hosted by the foundation at the C & A Industries building. Many from the community attended the workshop to learn more about the programs that RESPECT puts on at schools throughout Nebraska.

The foundation participated in the Great Plains Disaster Behavioral Health Conference with a resource booth during the two day event. Julia was able to participate in the Hope Squad suicide prevention training for schools at a different conference as well.

August – The 13minutes suicide prevention campaign recorded its second public service announcement to air on WOWT and in movie theater previews throughout the Omaha area.

The foundation and its 13minutes suicide prevention campaign were also invited to host a booth in the community village at the MAHA Music Festival and were featured on each t-shirt at the event.

September – On September 6th, staff from the foundation traveled to the state capitol building in Lincoln for the signing of the Suicide Prevention Proclamation.

In honor of Suicide Prevention Day on September 10th, the foundation took part in the Out of the Darkness Walk by hosting a booth. The community could also dine at Planet Sub and a portion of their bill was donated to The Kim Foundation.

In addition, the foundation was busy holding a Resource Fair for school counselors, school psychologists, administrators, and social workers at the Lied Community Center in Bellevue with over 50 mental health organizations from the community participating and 13 school districts represented at the event.

October – Julia attended Hill Day in Washington, D.C. along with nine other Nebraskans. Sessions were held with national leaders, networking with peers and colleagues from all over the country while advocating for those impacted by behavioral health issues from the community. Julia, along with Janae also took part in the National School Mental Health Conference in Washington, D. C. to gain insight for the state conference.

The foundation’s annual luncheon, “A Time for Hope and Healing” was held on October 24th with guest speaker, Mike Veny who brought a message of hope and education with a musical twist. The event was well received with nearly 500 people in attendance. Guests were also able to participate in an extended conversation with Mike following the luncheon.

The foundation coordinated the corporate United Way drive at C & A Industries to assist programs in the community raising nearly $70,000.

November – The month of November was filled with numerous presentations and booths surrounding the 13minutes suicide prevention campaign and mental health awareness. The foundation worked at many schools’ parent-teacher conferences, resource fairs, and also the Nebraska School Counselors Association conference.

December – The Kim Foundation exceeded its goals for presentations and community booths this year. 219 presentations were given to schools, churches, businesses, and clubs reaching over 16,488 people. The foundation was also able to host a booth at 49 different conferences and health fairs.

2017 has certainly been a year full of activity for the foundation by building awareness, educating the public, and providing resources. We look forward to 2018 and the positive impact that The Kim Foundation will continue to have in the community!