The primary objective of BeWell Partners is to support the emotional fitness of youth and young adults. This is done through education, mentoring, community building, conversation, peer leadership and training, service opportunities, camps, fun, and creative expression.
Programs are either created and run by BeWell Partners, or run through partner organizations with our support. The goal is to not only create, but also assist others who are committed to creating a more just, emotionally fit, open-minded, and empathetic world.
current initiatives / Partnerships
Ven u
Focusing on the Wellness of College and University Athletes
With an emphasis on Well Rs (Wellness "PRs")
Athletes understand the value of small gains, and a trajectory toward improvement. Goals and PRs are a part of every sport and training program.
A golfer doesn’t think their average can immediately go from 80 to 72. They know certain aspects of their game need to be focused on.
A runner doesn’t expect to go from a 4:18 to a 3:59 within a week.
A basketball player doesn’t think their 3 point shooting percentage will leap significantly without practice.
And this concept can be used across all sports.
Our goal is to help student-athletes keep making small goals toward improving life-balance and mental health - done by charting a course, doing exercises, and developing skills. If "life health" is at a 6.8 on a 10 point scale, what could be done to help move them to a 7.0? And when at a 7.0, what could be done to help move to a 7.2? Etc.
The dream is multi-faceted, with a goal to…
- help college athletic departments implement curriculum and resources to support the mental health of their athletes
- present in-person seminars to teams and coaching staffs on a variety of wellness topics, leading to participation in regular wellness gatherings - online and in person
- develop online programs that countless students could tap into at the same time, where professional and well-known athletes share their mental-health stories, and provide encouragement and resources
- have trained facilitators who can do small group work online
- produce online lessons and learning opportunities, looking like if Khan Academy, SAT prep classes, TED Talks, and TikTok videos had a baby
- create programs that incentivise involvement, whether competition between teams in a particular school, or between schools in particular conferences
- mentor student leaders in each school, and on each team, so access and support is nearby
- educate coaches on needs of students, and an understanding of mental health
- partner with profession sports teams, sporting goods companies, apparel companies, and other companies that students use, to have prizes available to athletes who complete various curriculums and trainings
- run summer sports camps for 12-18 year olds that also has an emphasis on mental wellness, staffed by college athletes who have been trained as leaders and wellness facilitators
- have service opportunities for athletes, where they have exposure to developing countries, doing building projects and outreach, while leading sports clinics and teaching mental health tools
VEN Z
venz.xyz works to empower and educate teenagers (13-23 years old), building pathways for adolescents and young adults to learn skills for handing the the many complicated, exciting, and difficult parts of life.
The first step will be creating virtual content in the area of emotional fitness, using delivery methods and preferred by young adultst (Twitter, Instagram, Spotify, podcasts), while building an interactive web platform, focused on topics most applicable to high school students.
Information, material, and lessons will be delivered with short films, talks from specialists and known entities (celebrities, musicians, etc.), interviews, book reviews, peer reflections, videos, interactive presentations, testimonials, and a variety of content created by other teens.
What we're slowly working on
COLLEGE VOCATIONAL DISCERNMENT & WELLNESS/EMOTIONAL FITNESS RETREATS
These one and/or two day retreats could be offered in partnership with colleges and universities, whether on- campus or off-campus. Colleges are understaffed and underresourced when it comes to caring for the emotional well-being of their students - and the stressors and difficulties of young adult life continue to grow and mount.
College Vocational Discernment Retreats These events would focus on helping students through the process of gifts discernment, planning for the next steps, and working through a better understanding of what they might do with their lives. The college experience is expensive, and finding a path for work after graduation is complex. For example, if I feel called to be an actor, but will graduate with $100,000 of student debt, how do I make sense of this profound conundrum? Being creative around the following topics, and using a variety of methodologies to explore the topics, we help students feel empowered to make the next steps in their vocational journey.
- What am I good at?
- What do I enjoy doing?
- What do others affirm me for?
- Can I make money doing this - and how much money do I need?
- Where can my passions help the world?
College Wellness/Emotional Fitness Retreats These retreats can take place on campus over a day or two, or at an off-campus site. These retreats are geared toward students who are not in a place of severe emotional distress. Rather, they are designed to help students who feel relatively stable and healthy - with the pangs and distress we all encounter. The sequence of conversations, exercises, talks, small groups, and materials move through themes like:
- What has made me who I am at this point? What factors have contributed to my best parts, and the parts that keep me from being whole?
- What are my strengths and gifts? Do I celebrate them enough? How do I use them?
- What obstacles have I overcome in my life? How have I exhibited grit and resilience?
- What are ways to manage stress? What can I learn from acronyms like CBT, DBT, and MBSR?
- Ways of tackling problems... Steps and ideas when life gets too complicated.
VIRTUAL interest and community GROUPS
vens.group
In partnership with the company HandzIn, we will offer live evening presentations with a speaker/interview/panel. Groups of friends will then be able to meet in their own specific chatrooms (at your invitation) with discussion prompts and conversation ideas - which can be used, or not used, at the group's discretion.
This pandemic has taught us the power of friendship and community, and many of us have reconnected with friends around the globe. These once/month events allow a forum for groups of friends to have a set meeting time to connect and talk life.
Topics to include: Personal Growth, Film, Relationships, Vocation and Call, Sports, Politics, Justice, Art, Music, Sexuality, Spirituality and Religion, Money, and more.
"Transparency, Honesty, Vulnerability - and... Talking about 'All the things you're not suppose to talk about'."
Programs are free. Donations will be taken to support the future work, content, speakers, and possibilities.
podcasts and programs
God to the Pod
An exploration of faith and belief, and an incorporation of ones own spirituality, is a hallmark of a balanced and whole life. This podcast joins Jim Brommers Bergquist (a former minister and chaplain at Seattle University) with discussions across a variety of traditions, people, training, and backgrounds.
Could also include a monthly book review/discussion, hosted by Jim and/or Doug
Starting thoughts... God, Reza Aslan; Jesusland, Julia Scheeres; Crossroads, Jonathan Franzen; Man’s Search for Meaning, Victor Frankl; Jesus for the Disinherited, Howard Thurman; The Long Loneliness, Dorothy Day; Life After God, Douglas Coupland; East of Eden, John Steinbeck; The Courage to Be, Paul Tillich; Narcissus and Goldmund, Hermann Hesse ;The River Why, David James Duncan
Dads, Daughters, and Donuts
A humorous and heartfelt podcast, where hosts and guests share their favorite donuts, and then talk about a variety of issues; ranging from parent/child relationships, feminism, fears, empowerment, politics, business, music, movies vocation, etc.
The format will be Q and A and introduction; Trivia competition that listeners can engage in; Interview/Conversation on the chosen theme; Analysis of donuts and coffee/tea consumed during time together
I believe honest conversations between thoughtful dads and daughters, and exposure to different topics and viewpoints, could be an interesting listen - especially if there is some fun thrown in, and a way to participate as the listener (like a Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me...)
God of Film
A conversation on film, art, and the way that the Other appears in many ways. My theology says that the Divine can be found in art, truth, beauty, story, honesty, relationship, redemption, resilience, and much more. When films find ways to weave many of these themes together, something magical happens. And when things get askew and off-color, that can be fun too...
Idea would be to do reviews, but more to do explorations with directors and actors
Films for launching points/exploration/conversation/review: Glory, Dead Poets Society, The Piano, Chariots of Fire, Babette’s Feast, Rocky, Crash, The Breakfast Club, Lady Bird, Pulp Fiction, Lost in Translation, Boyz N the Hood, Little Miss Sunshine, Lone Star, Princess Bride, The Incredibles, Being John Malkovich, Hoop Dreams, American Beauty, To Kill a Mockingbird, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Heart of the Game, The Farewell
Plus, those by Martin Scorcese, Greta Gerwig, Wes Anderson, Coen Brothers, Jane Campion, Paul Thomas Anderson, Ava DuVernay, Alexander Payne, and more...
[I realize that my choices skew male and white. Certainly embarrassed, and open to all other suggestions and ideas.]
