Around 360 Youth Services - May 2017
  
See What's Happening at 360:
Message from the CEO
360 Youth Service's Counseling Center Celebrates One-Year Anniversary
Operation Snowball: Two Amazing Retreats
360 Youth Services Receives Awards
Naperville Women's Half Marathon/ 5K
In case you missed it
Message from the CEO

In the world today, the voices that divide us are often louder than the ones that unite us.  Our kids are seeing this first hand.  If you think back 15-20 years, news was contained to one or two segments on evening television.  Fast forward to today, and information is flowing at us all constantly and at an incredible pace. 
 
Our kids, including high school and college age students, are at a point developmentally where they are processing the world through the lens of emotion.  They are getting bombarded with more information, faster, than any generation before them.  We know they are smart, but because they are so smart, we can often overlook the fact that they are still kids, kids with the same brain development process that you or I experienced back when we were their age. 
 
Even with the intensifying level of noise kids today are experiencing, the reality is that the majority of kids are making healthy choices.  They are finding healthy ways to cope with the world around them.  As adults, it is important for us to be able to identify those kids who are struggling and find ways to connect them with support sooner rather than later.  
 
As parents, we need to know that we can do all of the right things and still face challenges.  It's important to realize and seek help when you find a challenge is beyond your ability to manage.  As a community, we need to give each other permission, encouragement and support to seek help.  We need our new norm to include parents feeling just as secure in seeking help with a child's mental health needs attention as we do when their physical health needs care. 
 
True power, personal power, lies in knowing it's okay ask for help.  360 is just one resource available in our community.  With your support, we stand ready to be part of the solution. 
 
Yours in service,
 
Katy Leclair 

360 Youth Service's Counseling Center Celebrates One-Year Anniversary

The end of Apri l ma rked a turning point for 360 Youth Services as the staff at the Counseling Center celebrated their one-year anniversary in their current facilities. This success story is the result of an amazing collaboration with local partners that included DynaCom Management Inc., Prager Moving and Storage as well as long-time 360 supporters Ray Kinney, Partner with Blooming Color, Nicki Anderson, President/CEO of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce, Tony Chirico, Managing Broker for AG Real Estate Investors and Christine Jeffries, President/CEO of Naperville Development Partnership.
 
"We are grateful to our community partners for their willingness to lend a hand when we truly needed it the most." says Katy Leclair, CEO for 360 Youth Services. "As we celebrate this one-year milestone, I am most proud of the fact we were able to continue providing critical services with limited disruption to our clients. Our staff has completed  more than 3,500 counseling sessions since relocating, and a vast majority of care provided is for low-income youth between the ages of 10-17. Our one-year anniversary truly illustrates the power of community partnerships." 

Operation Snowball: Two Amazing Retreats

More than 250 high school students participated in two sets of Operation Snowba ll retreats during the month of April. The spring retreats  represent a timeless tradition for 360 Youth Services and there are scores of volunteers who have participated in the program for many years. 360 Board members Nancie ElShafei and Danya Grunyk teamed up  separately with 360's CEO Katy Leclair to engage parents on  the Sunday morning and participate in the closing ceremonies, which are always well received by everybody in attendance. Special thanks to the dynamic duo of Judi Wincek and Barb Reh who, together with our enthusiastic team leaders, did a fantastic job.
360 Youth Services Receives Awards

The Naperville Jaycees named 360 Youth Services the Non-Profit Organization of the Year at the 39th Annual Distinguished Service Awards program held on Thursday, April 27. Staff members Katy Leclair, Deb Robertson, Shari Johnson, Margot Smith, Andy True, Dawn Neylon and Jason Altenbern joined 360 board members Debra Lellbach, Nancie ElShafei as well as Nancie's husband Alan in attendance at the celebration.
 
In response to the agency's selection, 360 CEO Katy Leclair states, "We are honored to be recognized by the Naperville Jaycees for this prestigious award. We enjoy strong support from our 360 Board of Directors and our staff is simply the best. Receiving this recognition is a wonderful reminder that the work we perform every day changes lives and inspires hope." 360 was identified as a Finalist for the Distinguished Service Awards in the same category in 2009.
 
To further the celebration, 360's Development Associate Trish Krenick was named Citizen of the Year for Service to Youth earlier in the month by the American Legion Post 43. Trish has volunteered countless hours for Ribfest and she has served several years as Club Secretary with the Naperville Exchange Club.

Naperville Women's Half Marathon / 5K

Nearly 4,000 women participated in the annual Naperville Women's Half Marathon/5K last month. This year's race was a sellout and 360 played an important role in the program's success. In exchange for being named as one of two Charity Partners, 360 board members, staff, THP residents and family members worked tirelessly as volunteers over the two-day period leading up to the race. 360 volunteers managed runner registration, handed out pre-race packets and distributed race shirts. Race organizers commented how they have organized more than 30 races across the country and they stated our participants were some of the most professional and courteous volunteers they have ever witnessed.
In case you missed it...
 360 Youth Services provides life-changing services for youth
through substance abuse prevention education, counseling, and housing.

360 Youth Services is a 501(c)3 organization and is grateful for contributions.





 360youthservices.org | 630.961.2992