The Difference You Can Make This Fall!

If you are an educator, a parent/grandparent, or a concerned citizen, how do you prepare for probably the most stressful 30-days in the history of school-age children which will impact every area of society? And YOU are one who is supposed to be strong for those in your realm of influence and have all the answers! I can say that with confidence because everyone I know who has inquired in or been involved with our B.I.O.N.I.C. initiatives through the years is truly a caring person and wants to help make this world a better place! THANK YOU for caring during these turbulent times!!!

As you are trying to maneuver through these times, we want to reach out to encourage and support you in any way possible. If you see a need that we could possibly help with, let me know. Here is a link to a great resource on self-care that may help you take care of yourself as you are trying to take care of everyone else.

We have some exciting things happening with our B.I.O.N.I.C. Teams that I wanted to share with you because I think it will encourage you! However you came in contact with B.I.O.N.I.C., you are a part of our story and the impact we are seeing in our second year as a nonprofit. Here is a two-minute video of what B.I.O.N.I.C. is all about. Thanks for caring! Sandy Austin, B.I.O.N.I.C. Executive Director

B.I.O.N.I.C. Happenings

Virtual B.I.O.N.I.C. Team Conference – We are hosting a B.I.O.N.I.C. Team Virtual Conference next week on August 13th. We hosted 8 Conferences last fall and as a result 41 schools started B.I.O.N.I.C. Teams by December. If you know of anyone who may be interested in coming, here is our conference flyer.

#viralcaring – We hosted a #viralcaring campaign last spring to send encouragement via our social media platforms. We had over 200,000 outreaches to make a positive impact. We are starting it up again on Monday, August 17^th with even greater prizes this time. We are still posting every day and we will be starting #viralcaring up again next week, and this time the prizes are: for an adult – free 1-night stay at the historic Brown Palace Hotel in Denver, for a student a $100 Amazon gift card. Check out our positive social media positive posts we post everyday to brighten someone’s day. You’ll find us at:
Facebook: @bionicteamorg
Twitter: @Bionicteam
Instagram: b.i.o.n.i.c.team
LinkedIn: BionicTeam
Snapchat: (TBA)
Check out our #viralcaring page on www.bionicteam.org/viralcaring.

B.I.O.N.I.C. 9/9 – I Care Day – on September 9^th – is a day when B.I.O.N.I.C. encourages everyone worldwide to make a difference in the lives of at least 9 people – one person each hour in 9 hours. We have a 25-page 9/9 – I Care Day Kit with ideas of individual, group, and community outreaches you can do online or in-person. We are planning on having a virtual Rally at the end of the day for schools and communities from around the world to report on the difference they made on 9/9. For more information go to https://www.bionicteam.org/9-9/

Here are some things that our B.I.O.N.I.C. Teams have done that you can adapt for outreaches on 9/9 – I Care Day:

• Pick an industry in your area: healthcare facilities; services to keep homes going – plumbers, electricians, etc.; first-responder agencies; restaurants, grocery stores, health-related businesses, faith-related, nonprofits, etc. and search for their social media platforms and thank them for what they do in your community.
• Divide the school staff (or groups that are in your realm of influence) into group lists, and each hour send a thank you message to a person.
• Make “Smile Snacks” or “Jam Jars” of goodie bags or little jars and a smiley face note of encouragement to hand out to your family.
• Create chalk art positive messages on sidewalks on school grounds, in your neighborhood, or throughout town.
• Have students make a 9-second video* of one thing they will do on 9/9 – I Care Day to make a difference in someone else’s life. *See more about this on our website.

ASCA@Home – Recently we presented a workshop at the American School Counselor Assn. Conference, and we had over 1,000 people inquire about B.I.O.N.I.C. If you would like to see that presentation to find out more here is the link.

Suicide Prevention Training – Last spring, in seeing a rise in suicidal thoughts among youth, we raised money on #GivingTuesdayNow to make it possible for 572 educators to get trained in suicide prevention. Thanks to those of you who were a part of making that possible! You are helping save thousands of lives!

Free Post Cards – We created these Free Postcards (no strings attached) if you would like to use them to encourage students, educators, or parents/guardians as the start of this school year will be stressful.

Let us know if we can be of help in any way this year! We hope this year will surprise you as ending up being the best year yet of your life! Thanks for the difference you make everyday!!!