The FIRE Within: Student Entrepreneurs Preventing Youth Suicide
We sustain a passion for life by coaching empathic young leaders to develop social enterprises for mental health promotion and suicide prevention.
About You
About You
First Name
Sally
Last Name
Spencer-Thomas
Twitter URL
https://twitter.com/#!/cjsfoundation
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Carson J Spencer Foundation
Organization Website
Organization Country
United States, CO, Denver
Country where this project is creating social impact
United States, CO, Denver, Denver County
Is your organization a
Non‐profit / NGO / Citizen sector organization
Your role in Education
Other.
The type of school(s) your solution is affiliated with
Public (tuition-free)
How long has your organization been operating?
More than 5 years
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Innovation
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
How long has your solution been in operation?
Operating for more than 5 years
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
1.Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Colorado adolescents, and Colorado has the 6th highest suicide death rate. Most programs teach warning signs and resources, but students are passive learners and suicide is treated as a problem rather than a result of other problems.
2.Schools struggle to engage students in meaningful work with measurable results, and research shows that engagement levels are directly correlated to success.
3.Many business leaders take short cuts to success that hurt communities and customers. We need to instill the value that doing good is good business in our future leaders.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
Through the FIRE Within program young leaders apply business entrepreneurial strategies to suicide prevention, and in the process, transform themselves and their community. We provide an intensive, year-long curriculum which, in partnership with Junior Achievement, teaches high school students hands-on business skills, entrepreneurship and leadership, all through the lens of advancing suicide prevention and awareness. Over 30 hours of programming is delivered using a combination of Junior Achievement’s “Be Entrepreneurial” program and CJSF’s entrepreneurial suicide prevention curriculum. Students learn facts about teen suicide, research and identify the root causes of suicidal ideation among their peers, explore prevention strategies, and develop, compete for seed funding, and ultimately execute a business plan that raises revenue and achieves market-based solutions to prevent suicide.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
Students participate in a hands-on curriculum that develops as follows:
• Junior Achievement Be Entrepreneurial: Entrepreneurial Skills
• Intro to Social Enterprise: Triple Bottom Line, Root Causes and Solutions
• Leading with Empathy: How Empathy Makes Businesses Successful
• Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR): National Suicide Prevention/Intervention Strategy
• Strengths of a Team: Skill Set Diversity Makes Companies Successful
• Needs Assessment: Learning and Implementing Methods for Researching the Root Cause of Suicide in the Community
• Safe Messaging: Talking about Suicide Safely and Effectively
• Addressing the Root Cause: Design a Marketable Product to Solve the Root Cause
• Business Plan: Create a Plan to Produce and Market the Product
• Business Plan Competition: Compete for Seed Funding for Social Enterprises
• Implement: Make it happen, Measure the Results!
Throughout the curriculum, students are given the tools they need to become participants in the solution for suicide in their communities. In the process, they develop skills that uniquely qualify them to run effective social enterprises. The real magic happens when the students businesses are seed funded and they get to implement their plans. Our evaluations show that each individual student impacts 100 others in this process, making it radically culture changing for their schools and communities.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
• Other business/leadership programs (Junior Achievement, DECA, FBLA, FCCLA)
• Other student engagement programs (Colorado Youth at Risk, Project VOYCE)
• Other suicide prevention programs (Sources of Strength, QPR, SafeTALK, SOS)
These programs do not provide hands on learning of running a social enterprise or foster social change. We strive to fill gaps in education, engagement, and prevention instead of duplicating services. JA is part of our curriculum, and students use our project to compete in other business education programs. Our program does not duplicate the whole school education that other prevention programs provide; we supplement it with deeper, transformational learning and enterprise.
Now that you have thought out your entry, help us pitch it.
Define your company, program, service, or product in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
We sustain a passion for life by coaching young leaders to develop social enterprises for mental health promotion and suicide prevention
Identify what is innovative about your solution in 1-2 short sentences [136 characters]
We coach young leaders to use entrepreneurial principles and innovative products to become participants in community suicide prevention
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Each student impacts at least 100 other individuals. Our 275 students have impacted 27,500 students in 12 schools and 4 districts. Students who participate in our program have an 80-100% increase in content knowledge and confidence, and the majority have referred someone to mental health services. In the students social impact measures, they show their products achieving a 70-100% increase in knowledge AND behavior of their peers – they are changing their schools’ culture! Students leave our program understanding the root causes of suicide, and confident that they can make a difference. They are also capable of addressing issues at the causal level, making them more prepared for their future. FIRE Within Alumni are innovative, resilient entrepreneurs who help others sustain a passion for life.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
In 2012-13 school year, we will be in 22 schools in Colorado, directly serving about 500 students and impacted 50,000. By the end of the 2013-14 school year, we will be in 50 schools statewide, directly serving about 1,000 students and impacting 100,000. In two years we will have directly served about 1,500 students, impacting a total 150,000. In three years we will have directly served 2,500 students, impacted 250,000, and worked in 50-70 schools statewide.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
In six months we will have commitments from 22 schools to participate in our program and will continue our program evaluation to
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone
Task 1
Recruit and fund (through Adopt a School) 22 schools and 3 waitlisted schools to participate in program
Task 2
Assemble a team of employees and volunteers to deliver curriculum and evaluation (position descriptions, hiring process, contrac
Task 3
Complete program evaluation and enhance curriculum accordingly, publish results
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
In twelve months we will have commitments from 50 schools to participate in our program and continue program evaluation.
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone
Task 1
Recruit and fund (through Adopt a School) 50 schools and 5-10 waitlisted schools to participate in program
Task 2
Create regional structure for microfinancing and business plan competition
Task 3
Continue program evaluation and publish results
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world [125 words]
“It was more of an ‘Aha!’ process. After my brother died by suicide his friends and family were getting together and realizing that so many people suffered in silence. We had to do something. We also saw that what was being done wasn’t working for enough people – we had to fill the gap. During the first business plan competition when the students only had 5 weeks and $25 to change the world, I saw the amazing things they could do. Their reach was beyond what any professional could even imagine. I knew that growing this program would save so many lives. It isn’t just suicide prevention; the youth are solving all of the things that contribute to suicide, too.” – Sally Spencer Thomas
Sustainability
Tell us about your partnerships
1. Junior Achievement Rocky Mountain, Inc. (JARMI) who provides access to classrooms and the JA Be Entrepreneurial curriculum.
2. Second Wind Fund, who provides free access to quality mental health services for at-risk and un and underinsured youth.
3. We collaborate with The Partnership for Families and Children, a non-profit technical assistance organization to implement an evaluation on the FIRE Within Program and share workspace with them in a non-profit hub in Denver.
What type of team (staff, volunteers, etc.) will ensure that you achieve the growth milestones identified in the Social Impact section? [75 words]
Our program will be supported by a central staff who oversees fund development, program delivery, training, recruitment, and community relations. We will also be hiring contract educators to manage classrooms. The educators will be supported by community volunteers. We partner with outside organizations to deliver pieces of our curriculum, analyze the results of our evaluation, and provide free mental health services to students in our schools. We will also have a youth advisory board.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
We believe that services should not be duplicated, and actively strive to collaborate in innovative ways to improve our efficacy. Community resource sharing furthers mutual goals and keeps programs effective and responsive. We are in it together, and will share and gladly take relevant support as we grow and learn.
 | 58 weeks ago Preston Brasch said: The more I learn about the FIRE Within program, the more amazed I am at this program's ability to inspire change in communities. Youth ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 59 weeks ago Sally Spencer-Thomas said: Thank you, Ashoka for making empathy the focal point in this competition. Empathy IS the key motivator that helps sustain the ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 63 weeks ago Sally Spencer-Thomas updated this Competition Entry. |
| 63 weeks ago Sally Spencer-Thomas updated this Competition Entry. |
| 63 weeks ago Sally Spencer-Thomas updated this Competition Entry. |
| 63 weeks ago Sally Spencer-Thomas updated this Competition Entry. |
| 63 weeks ago Sally Spencer-Thomas submitted this idea. |
