Resources for Planning Teams

Soul Shop™

TOOL BOX

RESOURCES FOR PLANNING TEAMS

Soul Shop™, LLC

3524 Washington Pike

Bridgeville, PA 15017

Introduction to the Toolbox...... 1

Important Contact Information ...... 1

Key Roles...... 2

What is Soul Shop?...... 3

Training Objectives...... 3

The Soul ShopTM Terminology...... 5

Event Planning Timeline...... 6

Partnerships...... 12

Finances of the Event...... 13

Promotional Strategy...... 15

Logistics...... 22

Registration...... 24

Appendix 1: Mission, Vision, History and Philosophy....25

Appendix 2: Soul ShopTM Training Options...... 27

Appendix 3: The Soul Shop Team...... 28

Appendix 4: Logistics for ASIST...... 29

Appendix 5: Logistics for Soul Shop for Youth Leaders....31

Introduction to the Soul ShopTMTool Box

Thank you for hosting a Soul Shop™ training.

Soul Shop™trainings provide both inspirational and practical tools to help congregational leaders form safe organizations for people who are impacted by suicidal desperation. By bringing this training to your area you are reducing isolation as well as saving lives that may have otherwise been lost to suicide.

Soul Shop™ endeavors to shift the culture of faith communities by working collaboratively with regional partners to develop strategies that systematically engage leaders in three trainings, (a) Soul Shop™ for Leaders, (b) Soul Shop™ for Youth Workers, and (c) Soul Shop™ ASIST.

This Tool Box seeks to provide all the tools you need to organize Soul Shop™ for Leadersor Soul Shop™ for Youth Workersin your location. A separate Tool Box is provided for the ASIST training (ASIST Tool Box).

The core of the Tool Box is in the next five pages. We encourage you to read these carefully. If you are using an electronic version, these pages provide links to further information in the rest of the document and external documents that provide details fororganizing this event. Depending on your experience with networking and event-planning, different aspects will be helpful to you. Weawait the opportunity to walk you through the Tool Box in a detailed way and answer all questions.

All materials within this document belong toSoul Shop™. The Organizer has permission to copy all or portions of this notebook for planning purposes.

Thank you for partnering with us!

-The Soul Shop™ Team

Important Contact Information

Your Liaison provides initial and conceptual contact between the Soul Shop™ team and host organizations. He/she will guide you through the process of hosting a Soul Shop™ training in your location. To have a Liaison assigned to you, please contact Michelle Snyder at 814-758-2056.

Liaison Name: ______

Liaison Contact: Email: ______Phone: ______

General inquiries:

Key Roles

The Organizer

The Organizer is the agency or faith community that is taking overall responsibility for the Soul Shop™ training including the contractual, financial, and organizational components.

The Executive Team

The Executive Team is the group of persons recruited and convened by the Organizer to oversee the Soul Shop™ training. It is helpful for the Executive Team to establish roles for members.

Team Lead / This person is appointed by the Organizer to provide leadership for the entire process and serve as the point person in communicating with the Soul Shop™ Liaison.
Email:
Phone:
Logistics Lead / This person holds the detailed view of the various component parts of the event. They are responsible for all background logistics of the event.
Email:
Phone:
Registrar / This person answers questions, takes phone calls, responds to emails, keeps track of online registrations and run the registration table on the day of the event.
Email:
Phone:
Promotional
Lead / This person puts together and implements a promotional plan. This includes networking, promotion through social media, and other means of promotion.
Email:
Phone:

Your Soul Shop™ Liaison

Your Soul Shop™ Liaison will support your process in the following ways:

Provide a digital copy of this Tool Box to reproduce for Team members.
Schedule your Soul Shop™.
Provide guidance in establishing a budget for your training.
Designate a presenter for your training.
Meet monthly with the Team Lead to assist in the planning process.

What Is Soul Shop™?

It is critical for every member of your team to understand the purpose of Soul Shop™ prior to entering into the planning process. The mission of Soul Shop™ is to equip congregations to minister to persons impacted by suicidal desperation. This includes four groups of persons:

a)persons who are currently engaged in suicidal thinking

b)persons who are concerned about a friend or family member who may be suicidal

c)persons who have lost a friend or family member to suicide

d)persons who have recovered from a period of suicidal thinking in the past

About half the members of a typical faith community fall into one of these four categories. Soul Shop™ works with local teams to systematically engage congregations in a cluster of three trainings to address these needs:

[1] Soul Shop™ for Leaders is a one day training designed for clergy, staff, lay pastors, and faith-based clinicians to develop soul-safe communities by equipping members to address suicidal desperation as a regular aspect of their life and work.

[2] Soul Shop™ for Youth Workers is a one day training designed for youth pastors, lay professionals, volunteers, church school teachers, and Christian school teachers to address the unique needs of youth ages 11 to 18 who are impacted by suicidal desperation.

[3] Soul Shop™ ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) is a two-day training designed for leaders and faith-based clinicians which integrates intervention skills into the Soul Shop™ vision of creating soul-safe communities.

A positive and lasting impact upon a community is best achieved when all three of these components are bundled into a cluster of trainings that are appropriately sequenced in a region. Training pastors to address the needs of adults (Soul Shop™ for Leaders) without addressing the needs of youth (Soul Shop™ for Youth Workers) leaves a significant population at risk. Without intervention skills (Soul Shop™ ASIST) faith communities are trained to talk about suicide without knowing where to turn in a crisis. A large percentage of participants in a Soul Shop™ training indicate they want to receive further training.

In your initial conversation with your Soul Shop™ Liaison you will be asked to schedule all three. However, we realize that some communities need to focus on a more programmatic approach and will want to offer a single training. We believe that valuable skills are offered in all our Soul Shop™ trainings.

Finances

Soul Shop™ has designed these three trainings to be approximately revenue neutral at the following levels of attendance and tuition:

Training / Attendance / Tuition
Soul Shop™ for Leaders / 50 / $50/person
Soul Shop™ for Youth Workers / 50 / $50/person
Soul Shop™ ASIST / 30 / $190/person

Organizers generally find that Soul Shop™ represents a good donor opportunity for those who want to help sponsor a training. Every dollar raised from sponsors reduces the revenue required from tuition and potentially increases attendance. Revenue and expenses can vary widely from one community to another with the result that an organization may have a financial surplus or deficit from Soul Shop™ trainings.

Training Objectives

A Soul ShopTMtraining has four objectives:

1.Familiarize participants with the incidence and impact of suicidal desperation on the adults and youth in their faith communities and beyond

2.Train participants in a simple, conversational method for saving the life of someone considering suicide.

3.Equip participants to address suicidal desperation as a regular aspect of their life and work.

4.Engage participants in an ongoing, strategic effort to shift the way that faith communities deal with suicide.

The first two objectives are the focus of the morning session; the 3rd and 4th objectives are the focus of the afternoon session.

Optional Soul Shop™ Resources

[1] CAST (Community Awareness Skills Training) is a 90 minute, secular suicide awareness training which uses SuicideTALK, a curriculum developed LivingWorks Education. It is designed for the entire community including teachers, parents, first responders, medical professionals, veteran organizations, and senior centers.

[2] Reinvention Coach Training is a one-day workshop designed for mental health professionals who want to develop skills that help persons reinvent their lives.

[3] ConvergenceTM is a one-day process through which leaders develop a suicide prevention plan for their community. The leaders represent key stakeholders including mental health agencies, educational institutions, faith communities, first responders, political offices, and local businesses.

Soul Shop™ Terminology

Champion:A person or organization who is willing to promote a Soul Shop™ training across their network of relationships.

Executive Team:The group of people who work with the Organizer to implement Soul ShopTM events. Ideally at least four people.

First Day Person: Someone who has never experienced suicidal desperation but wants to support those who do.

Second Day Person: Someone who has gone through the dark night of suicidal desperation and come out the other side to a new hope.

Soul Safe Community: A community in which persons who are impacted by suicidal desperation can speak freely and receive help without fear of judgement.

Sponsor: A person or organization who makes a financial contribution to support a Soul Shop™ training.

Event Planning Timeline

5-6 Months Ahead: Initial Contact

Contact theSoul Shop™ office to gain initial information and express interest

Learn about Soul ShopTM(

Process whether sponsoring Soul ShopTM works well for your organization:

Can we recruit persons who will serve on an Executive Team?

Do we have the network that will enable us to have 25 to 80 persons in attendance?

Do we have the finance resources to offer Soul Shop™ trainings at a reasonable tuition for our community?

Determine which Soul Shop™ trainings are of interest

Soul Shop™ for Leaders

Soul Shop™ for Youth Workers

Soul Shop™ ASIST

Optional trainings

4-5 Months Ahead: Schedule and Form your Team

Set a date for your Soul Shop™ training through your Soul Shop™ Liaison

Sign and return the contract developed by your Soul Shop™ Liaison

Brainstorm partnering organizations and people with the goal of forming an executive team of at least four people.

Among the executive team, determine how team responsibilities will be divided.

Brainstorm and develop list of potential Champions and Sponsors

Develop a list of target audiences to whom Soul Shop™ will be marketed.

3 Months Ahead: Early Logistics

Team Lead
Provide all communication between the team and the Soul Shop™ Liaison.
Keep track of progress of team members in their roles.
Continue to work with partners to ensure the enactment of their promised roles.
Continue to seek financial and promotional partners. / Logistics Lead
Gather all costs- related information from team members; work with your team lead on setting a price point for your Soul Shop™ Training.
Research appropriatevenues; determine venue
Determine whether food or beverages will be provided at the event and a general cost point for those.
Registrar
Work on creating onlineregistration options.
Provide registration links and instructions to Promotional Lead to include in promotional material.
Send registration link to Soul Shop™ office to include on the national Soul Shop™ website here. / Promotional Lead
Create a promotional strategy and work through details of how to implement it.
Adapt promotional material provided by Soul Shop™ to the details of your event.
Work with registrar to make sure all promotional materials interface smoothly with registration process.

2 Months Ahead: Promotion, Registration and Trainer Contact

Team Lead
Provide all communication between the team and the Soul Shop™ Liaison.
Keep track of progress of team members in their roles.
Continue to work with partners to ensure the enactment of their promised roles.
Continue to seek financial and promotional partners. / Logistics Lead
Be in touch with the Soul Shop™ trainer to sort out travel plans, accommodations, arrival times, etc.
Finalize the details of the event schedule with the trainer
Registrar
Respond to all questions about the event by email or phone.
Keep track of all registrations through a spreadsheet. A shared google sheet is recommended so other team members can track the registration numbers.
Communicate current registration number to other team members every couple of weeks. / Promotions Lead
Work on widespread distribution of promotional materials.
Work on networking face-to-face, with groups, and with organizations to increase registration.
Determine whether further promotional strategies are needed.

Last Month: Final Details

Team Lead
Continueto provide all communication between the team and the Soul Shop™ Liaison.
Continue to keep track of progress of team members in their roles.
Continue to work with partners to ensure the enactment of their promised roles.
Consider the role and process of long-term organizational changes in your organization. / Logistics Lead
Work with the venue on setup audio-visual needs.
Finalize ordering, delivery, setup & distribution of food and beverages at the event.
Work with the promotions lead to determine promo table setup.
Work through a hospitality plan for the trainer.
Registrar
Two weeks before the event, send your current registration to the Soul Shop™ office. They will add about 15% to your number to make sure you have enough to cover last minute registrations.
Continue to respond to event questions and keep track of registration.
Communicate current registration number to other team members every couple of weeks. / Promotions Lead
Continue promotional process
Work with partners to determine who wants a promotional table. Collect payments for promotional tables.
Work with logistics lead for setup of sufficient promotional tables outside the presentation room.

Day Of: Registration and Materials

Team Lead
Introduce yourself, your organization and the trainer.
Be present for the presentation.
Be available to network with participants.
At the end of the day, congratulate yourself on an event well-done.
Make sure team members know how much you appreciate all their hard work behind the scenes. / Logistics Lead
Ensure setup is as expected and there are enough chairs and tables for walk-ins.
Coordinate the smooth provision of all intended food and beverages.
At the end of the day, make sure participants fill out the last two pages of the workbook and hand them in.
At the end of the day, congratulate yourself on an event well-done!
Registrar
Arrive 30-60 minutes early to set up the registration table including:

A list of all registrants and how much they have paid or owe
A registration sheet to obtain necessary information from last minute walk-ins
Pens
Nametags and markers

Provide information at participant request
At the end of the day, congratulate yourself on an event well-done! / Promotions Lead
Setup and run sales table of all Soul ShopTM materials.
Work with partners to make sure all promotional tables are adequate.
Continue to network with partners and participating individuals for the sake of longer-term partnerships in suicide prevention.
At the end of the day, congratulate yourself on an event well-done!

Post-Event: Closing out Finances, Doing Follow-Up

Team Lead
Determine application of Soul Shop™ training to your organization.
Continue to work with the Soul Shop™ office and your trainer in this process.
Compare final income and expenditure from event to see how it came out.
Distribute monetary loss or gain to partners as previously agreed.
Work with team to ensure follow-up steps.
Receive Soul Shop™ invoice and ensure payment. / Logistics Lead
Return evaluations, Next Step forms & unused materials(workbooks & sales items) to the Soul Shop™ office at:
Soul Shop™, LLC
Attn: Kim Clair-Digman
124 Murdock Street
Canonsburg, PA 15317
Email number of materials used to the Soul Shop™ office for invoicing.
Registrar
Send registration list to Soul Shop™ Liaison to be added to the Soul Shop™ database.
Provide final participant count & income to team members.
Contact anyone who failed to pay for the event. Insure payment.
Receive & pay invoice for the remainder of costs. / Promotions Lead
Continue to network with partners and participating individuals for the sake of longer-term partnerships in suicide prevention.

Partnerships

If you bring partners into the preparation process early it will make the event a lot easier for you as the organizer. Think about people and organizations who might fit one of these partnering roles:

Team: people or organizations who become part of the executive planning team for the event

Sponsors: people or organizations who contribute financially to Soul ShopTMeventsbut are not otherwise involved.
Community Allies: organizations who wish to participate in spreading the effects of Soul ShopTM. These groups come to CAST (if there is one) and pay $100.00 toward the Soul ShopTMfor Leaders. In return they receive the right to put up a promotional table on the day of Soul ShopTMfor Leadersabout their services and get one free registration.
Champions: people who are passionate about suicide prevention and are interested in drawing other people to Soul ShopTM events on a one-to-one basis.
Endorsers: public figures in your geographic region who are interested in suicide prevention and willing to write 2-3 sentences for you to use in publications promoting the event.