December Newsletter
Warm greetings to you all—
We remember the days of ensuring we kept up on our Santa duties for the believers in our home. We remember the cookies and milk, the letters with wish lists, the visits to the mall. We see our grandchildren in those roles now and we are so grateful for a second chance to reprise the role of magic makers and spirit bringers.
When we reflect on those early days in our family, we believe what we did and carried out on behalf of our children was hope. The ability to foster a sense of wonder and anticipation on behalf of someone else is a gift. To give them all the feelings of love, hope, and the spirit of the season—how wonderful! May we all remember the feelings of joy and contentment long past the season of Santa.
Wishing you all the best this holiday season,
Reyne & Scott Roeder
Your Gifts This Season
We wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you from the bottom of our hearts for answering when we called on behalf of Give to the Max Day 2021. Because of your generosity, we raised more than $10,000 for Jackson’s Memorial Fund … in a single day. We are blown away! Your support ensures we’ll be able to carry over our advocacy into the New Year to further our mission of suicide prevention and mental health awareness.
In our first newsletter of 2022, we’ll showcase the ways we impacted our cause and the lives we hope we touched this year in a recap-style feature. Thank you for making this all possible!
If the past two years have taught us anything, it’s that caring for ourselves and those we love is more than a full-time job. Recognizing that people are often maxed out but keep pushing through on behalf of those they love can mean caregiver burnout, a weary place that can lead to other serious issues. We want to recognize the selfless, tireless, and perhaps just plain tired people in our village. With many responsibilities, the caregivers in our lives run the risk of developing caregiver burnout or caregiver fatigue. Caregiver burnout is a state of emotional, mental, and physical exhaustion. It can be spurred on due to stress, mismanaging or avoiding emotions, and constantly being “on”.
How can we support our caregivers or ourselves in that role?
1. Self-Awareness. Self-awareness is the biggest key when it comes to avoiding caregiver burnout. Keeping track of our emotional, mental, and physical states will help to identify when it’s time to call in reinforcements.
2. Prioritize Personal Time. Personal time or self care is vital to everyone. But caregivers, often out of guilt, tend to neglect their own time. Take time to make time—for yourself.
3. Establish a Schedule. Just like a typical job with hours or a schedule you work, carve out criteria for your commitment or availability and try to stick to it.
4. Talk Through It. Caregiving can be one of the most ambiguous and overwhelming roles to play. Taking complete ownership of the emotions that come with it will only amplify things. Being honest and transparent with your thoughts and emotions related to caring for your loved ones will help shine light on other opportunities for support.
5. Find Allies. If an option, try reaching out to friends or family that may be willing to help. Gather a list of your responsibilities, identify the ones you struggle most with, and ask if they’d be able to help. Doing so will reduce the pressure you face and allow you to focus on doing other tasks more effectively. Professional services such as cleaning, grocery delivery, transportation, physical therapy, and even caregivers can remove items from your task list.
6. Create Healthy Habits. Eat well, move your body daily, seek the sunshine, and get enough sleep. Create a sustainable plan to prioritize your own health.
7. Practice Gratitude. This might sound counterintuitive, but establishing a system for practicing gratitude could help lessen the strain you feel. It could help ground you and offer or restore fulfillment.
Tony Strack, Webmaster & Designer: Tony joined Jackson Roeder Memorial Fund in 2019 to manage website updates, design, and functionality. He has a keen eye for not only what looks good, but works good, too across many platforms. Tony and his wife Marci live in Duluth with their two boys and love nothing more than spending their precious days in the glorious outdoors of the North Shore. Currently, Tony is the Web Development Manager at SmartBug Media and we wish to extend our sincere thank you to Tony for his dedication and skill as he embraces new roles in his life. Thank you!
Alison Schroeder, Editor & Content Creator: Alison took over the editorial component of JRMF in October 2020. She focuses on content creation that supports our mission and invites those who engage with our brand to gain awareness and be inclusive of our efforts. She’s a tireless advocate for storytelling, mental health, and finding purpose in grief. She and her daughter Ihlee live in St. Joseph and this fall, Alison began grad school at the University of Minnesota in the Integrated Behavioral Health program.
Send Silence Packing®
We recently partnered with Active Minds, the premier organization impacting young adults and mental health. Active Minds is part of 600 campuses, reaching over 600,000 students each year through campus awareness campaigns, events, advocacy, outreach, and more.
One of Active Minds’ programs include Send Silence Packing®, an interactive suicide prevention exhibit that travels the country. The Send Silence Packing Event includes personal stories given by people who have lost a loved one to suicide. Comprised of more 1,000 backpacks, Jackson now joins 250 other personal stories and photos that accompany one of his bags we donated to Active Minds.
Each Send Silence Packing event includes educational resources on mental health, suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, and information for survivors.
To learn more about Active Minds and the Send Silence Packing® event, visit its website.
“We feel so honored that you've chosen to share a piece of Jackson with us with the aim of showing others that they are not alone, that they are loved, and that they are worthy of support.” —Send Silence Packing® team
Resources & Can't-Miss:
Reducing Holiday Burnout: Holistic Approach to Mental Health
Online event from Minnesota Suicide Prevention Taskforce, Intervention Subcommittee. Holidays mean much joy but also can be stressful and emotional. December 14th 9am-10am. Registration is free.
Holiday Blues—Put Your Mental Health First This Year
Blog from the University of Utah offering tips on prioritizing your mental health during the holidays.
Suicide Prevention Workshop
Event to learn the three steps anyone can take to help prevent suicide—QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer), an emergency response to someone in crisis that can save lives. 12/29 11:30am-1pm.
Bounce Back Project™
Program from CentraCare with a single purpose—to impact the lives of individuals, communities, and organizations by promoting health through happiness. Free training for mental health professionals, groups and coalitions, teaching staff, counselors, medical care professionals, and community members is January 20th, 2022.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1-800-273-8255 or text “MN” to 741-741