FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAMI Queens / Nassau
1983 Marcus Ave. Lake Success, NY 11042 516-326-0791 www.btslessonplans.org

NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR THE MENTALLY ILL QUEENS/NASSAU AWARDED KELLOGG FOUNDATION GRANT FOR
“BREAKING THE SILENCE; TEACHING THE NEXT GENERATION ABOUT MENTAL ILLNESS”

Lake Success, N.Y. - January, 2005- NAMI Queens/Nassau, sponsor of the educational program “Breaking the Silence: Teaching the Next Generation about Mental Illness” (BTS), is pleased to announce that they have received a $39,828.00 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to promote mental illness education in the schools nationwide. The grant provides funds for ongoing support for advocates doing school outreach and expansion of BTS’ technological capabilities.
“Thanks to the Kellogg Foundation, advocates will be able to easily network with one another through an online newsletter and BTS will be able to provide individualized support to committed outreach projects. As a retired teacher and mother of a son with mental illness I know first hand the importance of teaching tolerance and promoting early treatment for brain disorders,” explains Janet Susin, BTS Project Director & NAMI Queens / Nassau Co-President.
Thomas Reis, Program Director, Philanthropy and Volunteerism explains his support for mental illness education, “When BTS reached out to the Kellogg Foundation we were impressed with the teaching modules and the concept of fighting the stigma surrounding an illness that affects one in five children. Classrooms today discuss AIDS, cancer, and other important health issues. It is time to teach about mental illness too.”
BTS is an innovative teaching package with lesson plans, games and posters on mental illness for three grade levels: upper elementary, middle school, and high school. Through stories and activities students learn the warning signs of mental illness, that mental illness can be successfully treated, and how to recognize and combat stigma. BTS meets national health education standards and is designed to put a human face on mental illness, replacing fear and ridicule with compassion. Each packet is available with a board game or poster for $15.00 or $40.00 for all three. The Tool Kit is available for free at www.btslessonplans.org.
The W. K Kellogg foundation was established in 1930 “ to help people help themselves though the practical application of knowledge and resources to improve their quality of life and that of future generations.” Its programming activities center around the common vision of a world in which each person has a sense of worth; act responsibly for self, family, community and societal well being; and has the capacity to be productive, and to help create nurturing families, responsive institutions and healthy communities.
To achieve the greatest impact, the foundation targets its grants towards specific areas. Those include: health; food systems and rural development; youth and education; and philanthropy and volunteerism. Within these areas, attention is given to exploring learning opportunities in leadership; information and communication technology; capitalizing on diversity; and social and economic community development. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Southern African countries of Botswana, Lestho, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
NAMI is a nationwide, grassroots, self help, support and advocacy organization of people with mental illness and their families and friends.
For further information on BTS, and NAMI contact NAMI Q/N at 516-326-0797, email btslessonplans@aol.com or visit www.btslessonplans.org.