OS, Inc. invites you to mark your calendar now for the Spring Snowball Showcase and the 2025-2026 Awards Luncheon. This year both events will be held on the same day, with the Awards Banquet taking place right after lunch.



• DATE: Thursday, April 9
• TIME: 9:00am - 2:30pm
• LOCATION: Hilton Chicago/Oak Brook Hills Resort & Conference Center
• FEE: $30/person

Disclaimer: Registration is now OPEN and is available to all OS Teams and individuals. This event is first come first serve on seats. If you have any questions please contact Michaela Price.

OS, Inc. is proud to announce our full Board that will be working alongside us for this calendar year, helping bring together more passionate leaders and youth voices from across the OS network.

This year's Board includes:

• 6 new Youth Advocates serving a one-year term
• 8 newly elected Board members serving a two-year term
• 7 continuing Board Members who terms conclude at the end of this year

These 21 individuals, will help guide OS in our mission to strengthen our programs and amplify youth leadership across Illinois and beyond.

Morton East had OS, Inc. stop by for a Facilitation training that allowed the students to put their skills to the test, practice new skills, and learn how to handle difficult situations. This Team was all in when it came to supporting each other as they navigated different activities that are designed to help them grow individually and as a Team.

The OS, Inc. Facilitation training is a free training provided to any OS Team (new or returning) at request to help students develop/strengthen their leadership, public speaking, and teamwork skills. The activities are selected to help students step out of their comfort zones, rely on each other, and take the next step in becoming a better leader. To schedule your Team's training for next school year, contact Michael Price (michaela@ilabh.org).

Grayslake OS Teams and the entire Northern Lake County Conference (NLCC) got together for the largest OS, Inc. Facilitation training. With multiple schools mixing together students got the opportunity to meet new people, learn from new adults, and have even more fun. This group was able to use each moment of the training to learn something or practice a new skill that is going to help them at their retreat in April.

OS, Inc. is flexible on training session times, group sizes, etc. If you have any questions about what a Facilitation training could look like for your OS Team, contact Michaela Price (michaela@ilabh.org) for more information.

Monroe County Coalition and Columbia High School OS participated in the OS, Inc. Facilitation in preparation for their first retreat in March. Each Teen Director had the opportunity to practice their facilitation skills, brainstorm new ice-breakers, and polish their workshops. This group is ready to go and can't wait for their first retreat.

If your OS Team is new (or a returning Team) to programming and need help planning your retreat/event or you know your students need help with their facilitation skills don't hesitate to reach out to Michaela Price (michaela@ilabh.org).

"People need to talk about mental health more, especially in the school system. Many people are

treated in either two ways: some act like it does not matter to a point where it affects them way too much or others treat every small problem like everything is gonna fall apart when it’s not. As students we need to learn a better way to balance between where stress and struggles get taken seriously without people overreacting, or ignoring it or us.

School pressure plays a big role in mental health. Students do classes, homework, sports, activities and even social problems. All of the time some might blame it on the phones because that is the main problem most of the time, but the real problem is us not being able to express our mental health state in an actual safe environment. How do teachers expect us to focus and keep up good grades at the same time we are getting different assignments from all of our other teachers that is due either the next day or the day after. At the same time some students struggle with stress or personal problems outside of school. When someone already feels overwhelmed constantly the work and expectations is just another add on to even more pressure and stress to that student.

Ensuring mental health breaks and support helps students handle pressure better. A teacher who understands can help a student come back to reality and focus again. This will not mean lowering expectations. It means helping a student stay in a good mental state so they can keep working because in this world that’s the only thing we can do to be successful. Some ways teachers can help is by tapping them on the shoulder and saying, do you need to step out in the hallway to get water, or give them a fidget toy or just tell them that you’re here and if you need to talk, I’m here for you.

I deal with this in my own life, balancing schoolwork, with volleyball, My after school clubs, and my life is not easy. Some days I don’t feel like doing anything besides staying in bed and doom scrolling on TikTok. I try to keep up with my assignments while also putting effort into volleyball and my clubs while handling my life problems, but sometimes it gets hard when you feel like you are trying your best, but still feel stuck or stressed out. Some ways I can cope is byreading a book, going for a run, working out, and maybe just playing volleyball with no strings attached to school. By teaching us how to cope with stress, emotions, and even how to ask for help when it’s needed can help us a lot. Students feel like they don’t know what they’re dealing with because they don't understand how to express it or when they do it looks weird or seems like they’re acting out. But we don’t know what they’re dealing with so teach them how to deal with their mental health and be able to express themselves in a healthy way. By learning about mental health.

Students and adults need to work together on this issue as a whole to figure out the solution to the problem which is mental health. Teachers are leaders who should listen to their students and give better support for that student. Every student has a different struggle. Every student has a different pressure. Every student has a different emotion. Every student has a different reaction to mental health, so every student needs to be seen in different ways instead of the same way. When schools recognize that they create healthier environments for us to learn where students can focus on learning while also taking care of their mental health, they will have better attendance. They will have better testing scores. They will have a better graduate class, but that will never happen if we do not come together to tackle the growing and continuous problem, which is mental health."

By sponsoring a table at the OS, Inc. Awards Banquet, you're continuing to help us offer opportunities to our attendees who are looking to grow and connect with the shared purpose of bettering our communities and the lives of those who live in them. The deadline for sponsorships is March 20 at 5:00PM.

Sponsorship includes: 

·      Logo signage on the table

·      Logo on our website 

·      ½ page ad in the awards booklet

·      Social media recognition of sponsorship

If you have any questions about sponsorships, please contact Michaela Price for more information and support!

As a reminder, all accredited OS Teams have access other the Accredited OS Team's Only Portal. This portal contains many amazing resources; OS, Inc. toolkits and guides, OS energizer videos, upcoming awareness events, OS logos for Team use, sample social media posts, and so much more.

Steps to logging in...

• Go to the OS, Inc. website
• Click the button in the top right corner (Accredited Team Login)
• Type in the password (OperationSnowball2025)
• Enjoy all the amazing resources

This portal is available to ALL accredited OS Teams for the remainder of the 2025-2026 school year. If you have any issues or questions regarding the OS Team Portal, please reach out to Michaela Price, michaela@ilabh.org!

OS, Inc. worked to provide OS Teams with a variety of new speakers and content that helped to fuel their action plans and promotes positive impacts in their communities. The 2025-2026 OS, Inc. Webinar Series has 11 pre-recorded webinars that covers content that empowers students to build stronger action plans, use their voices to create positive impact, and engage with more prevention education efforts. 

What will my OS Team get out of these webinars?

• S.M.A.R.T. goal setting
• Learning about boundaries and healthy relationship (of all kinds)
• Ditching the pressure and finding true purposes
• Underage gambling prevention
• Youth empowerment - using their voices for good
• So much more...

How long are the webinars available? All webinars are available until June 30 at 5:00pm (CST). At that time, registration will close and OS Teams will no longer be able to access any of the webinars.

Who can register? Any accredited OS Team or any student/adult from a currently accredited OS Team! 



Need a Certificate of Completion? All webinars include a post-survey, after completion individuals will be provided with a certificate of completion or a certificate of service learning hours. If you have any questions or have any issues, please contact Michaela Price (michaela@ilabh.org)!

For almost five decades, the Cebrin Goodman Teen Institute (CGTI) and Operation Snowball, Inc. (OS) have worked in tandem to support youth interested in creating long-lasting community change. As an Operation Snowball Team, your youth are already making strides in this mission! This summer, CGTI is hosting its 52nd annual leadership camp, taking place July 12-16 at Eastern Illinois University. Attending CGTI is a vital part of the community advocacy and self-development processes for Operation Snowball students! 

When your OS Team attends CGTI, your students: 

- Receive critical leadership training in foundational skills including facilitation, communication and peer collaboration, important for creating and hosting successful OS Team events. 

- Have specified time dedicated to creating action plans that breakdown the work you do over the school year into a data-supported, evidence-based, step-by-step process. 

- Gain access to a network of motivational speakers that can enhance and improve OS Team efforts and personal growth. 

- Network and build relationships with like-minded peers from throughout the state and around the world! 

At CGTI, your Operation Snowball Team will find not only resources and growth opportunities, but an extended family who share a mission for making an impact. We would love to have your OS Team in attendance and provide you with even more opportunities for student development, community betterment and prevention education! 

Applications for CGTI 2026 are open March 1 – June 20, with varying rates. Scholarships are available for new Teams, and adults are not required to attend in order to send a Team or individual student. Please email Natalie Maggiore with any questions. 

Generation Lead has partnered with Illinois High School Association and Illinois Elementary School Association, and the partnership has been in full swing this winter! Throughout this partnership, Generation Lead has attended five state championships throughout the state of Illinois. While attending, players, spectators, coaches, administrators, teachers, and guardians are invited to stop by Generation Leads table full of resources and education around mental wellness and substance use prevention. It has been an absolute blast seeing our long-standing communities and cross-program collaboration engaging with our campaign at these events! Shout out to Highland Middle School and Highland High School Operation Snowballers who stopped by and received campaign materials!

Problem Gambling Awareness Month (PGAM) 

Thinking of ways to expand your prevention efforts and add to your action plans? The month of March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month (PGAM) and during this month, the primary focus is to highlight the risks around gambling, prevention techniques, and raise overall awareness. Through trainings and workshops, we aim to empower our youth to understand gambling and to advocate against it to their peers. This month also utilizes the blue ribbon (like Red Ribbon Week) to show others that you care about awareness. If interested, please reach out to ryan@ilabh.org. 

Photovoice Opportunity

Photovoice empowers youth to share their perspective on gambling within their community. This project begins by educating youth about the gambling risks and prevention methods. Students explore their communities to identify and photograph real examples of gambling within their communities. Each photo is paired with a powerful caption created by the youth. There are four offerings for photovoice including: 1-session, 4-session, 8-session, and 16-session. Let Focus Youth Gambling come into one (or more) of your Snowball meetings and expand your prevention efforts. 

If you are interested in any of these programming opportunities or know someone who would be, please reach out to Ryan Aten at Ryan@ilabh.org ( 217-528-7335 ext. 30)