Winter 2019 Newsletter
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Happy Holidays from The Wingspan Project!
We’re excited to share some highlights from our first year of operations.  We have so many accomplishments to celebrate -- many that have been made possible through your involvement and generosity.
VALOR First Year Programs A HUGE SUCCESS
Our VALOR Program (Violence and Loss Organizational Response) is involved with three programs in Chicago focusing on underserved and underrepresented communities, and communities experiencing high levels of violence and traumatic loss.  We focus on providing support to staff in these programs to enable their important work and to help their jobs remain sustainable.  As part of our VALOR program we have
  • provided over 300 coaching sessions to staff engaged in violence intervention and prevention work in vulnerable neighborhoods and communities 
  • created a series of self-care workshops that transcend traditional self-care models and focus on the most important resiliency factor of all: relationships
We commit to working with organizations over the course of at least one year, and our workshops, “Caring for Ourselves and Each Other,” have been instrumental in fostering more sustainable work environments.
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Six Valuing Difference Awards In 2019!
With our organizational partner, Live Oak, Inc., we provided financial awards to six individuals this year through our Valuing Difference program.  Three awards went to students in graduate programs in mental health, and three awards were received by community activists committed to social justice work with underserved and underrepresented communities.

YPN Kicks Off In January 2020
The Young Professionals Network (YPN) is in the process of recruiting 10 experienced mental health providers with 10 newer professionals for one year of mentoring.  If you're interested in volunteering, click here for more information.  This initiative will formally launch in January 2020 with a kick-off event followed by monthly mentoring sessions throughout 2020.  The 20 professionals participating in YPN will also have the opportunity to participate in CEU events over the course of the year.
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Now Fly! Raised Over $10,000!
Our first ever “Friendraiser,”  Now Fly!, raised over $10,000 in April of 2019. This event allowed us to launch our first three initiatives and to begin to build a base of funding for our two remaining initiatives:  Access for All (AfA) aimed at making mental health services accessible to those who might not otherwise have access to such services and Franklin’s Fund (FF) our initiative that focuses on the value of the human-animal connection on fostering mental health.
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Join Us!
Please consider supporting us as we enter our second year of operations!  Our commitment to underserved, underrepresented, and marginalized communities manifests through unique systems of support for individual and organizational providers.  

Please join us by making your tax-deductible contribution today!
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With much gratitude,
Jeff Levy, LCSW
Founder and Executive Director
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The Wingspan Project is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization.  All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.  Our mission is to make mental health and related services available to underserved, marginalized, and/or disenfranchised people through organizational and individual capacity building. We are most notably dedicated to supporting services to people who have experienced discrimination and stigma and to those whose identities are particularly vulnerable to systems of oppression. ​