Beyond Tape Donations – Wild Iris

After writing Beyond Tape, I made a commitment to donate all of my net proceeds to local and global non-profit service-oriented organizations.  I’m excited to finally start passing those proceeds along and plan to write articles describing where that money is going and why I’m choosing each organization.

Thanks to all the folks who bought the book as well as the numerous people who donated their pictures, knowledge, and time to help me make Beyond Tape much better than it would have been with just me at the wheel.

My goal with the donations is to shine a light on people and organizations who are working hard to make meaningful and positive changes in their communities, both locally and globally.  It often seems we’re being constantly reminded of how hurtful we can be as human beings, but there are many more true heroes out there doing the tough job of preventing and cleaning up the messes in order to show us there are ways out of the darkness.  My intention is to strive to be more like the light creators.  I hope you’ll join me!  Giving money is great and, taking it a step further, people who volunteer for roughly 100 hours/year with 1-2 organizations tend to live longer and healthier lives.^1-4 If the extent of the problems you see in the world seem overwhelming and you don’t know where to begin, start at home.  It’s often easiest to see the tangible good that is being done in your backyard.

Wild Iris is an obvious choice for a donation, in my opinion.  Here are 3 reasons why:

1. They’ve been helpful to me personally.  In my line of work, I’m fortunate to have people trust me enough to tell me some pretty heavy things that happen in their lives.  I encourage this openness because physical problems are rarely, if ever, only physical.  Sometimes the things people share with me are beyond the scope of my ability to help them and Wild Iris has been an invaluable referral source since the time I moved to Bishop fourteen years ago.
2. We can all agree domestic violence is a problem and we should do what we can to decrease it.  It’s a problem that affects all of us, whether directly or indirectly.
   •  “Children who witness or are victims of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse are at higher risk for health problems as adults. These can include mental health conditions, such as depression and anxiety. They may also include diabetes, obesity, heart disease, poor self-esteem, and other problems.”⁵
   • Kids who grow up in abusive households are 3-4X more likely to repeat the cycle in adulthood, whether by becoming an abuser or being abused.^6,7   “The single best predictor of children becoming either perpetrators or victims of domestic violence later in life is whether or not they grow up in a home where there is domestic violence. “⁸
   • “A boy who sees his mother being abused is 10 times more likely to abuse his female partner as an adult. A girl who grows up in a home where her father abuses her mother is more than six times as likely to be sexually abused as a girl who grows up in a non-abusive home.”9

   It’s said that “hurt people hurt people”.  With the help of folks like Wild Iris, we can work to stop the cycle of violence.

3. Wild Iris is an organization that focuses on treatment as well as prevention.  Aside from their direct client services, they offer the following programs and services (see their website for more information):

• Parenting and Co- Parenting Classes: Wild Iris offers a FREE 6-week series of parenting and FREE 8-week series of co-parenting classes.
• Supervised Visitation Monitoring: We provide neutral, professional third parties who can enforce effective safety measures during a child visitation with a non-custodial parent.
• Youth Violence Prevention: Wild Iris offers a curriculum to students in the local schools that helps the faculty and staff meet their educational standards in areas of mental, emotional and social health, violence prevention and safety, and sexual health.
• CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate): Our CASA program provide foster youth with professional volunteer advocate in order to objectively gather information and provide a voice for the child in court as well as provide the child with a consistent adult in their life while in foster care.
• Groups: Wild Iris offers A Window Between Worlds and Art For Healing programs. Hands-on workshops offer a safe environment for self-expression and self-exploration while using art as a way to heal from trauma, pain, grief, fear or stress.
• 52- Week Court Ordered Parenting: Wild Iris offers the 52-week Court Ordered Parenting course. Those interested do not need to have a court order to attend classes.

Check out Beyond Tape: The Guide to Climbing Injury Prevention and Treatment for information about warming up, stretching, and other climbing (and non-climbing) injury related topics.  Like my facebook page for updates and more information and rate/review Beyond Tape on my website or here.  My primary motivations for Beyond Tape and any of the posts are to:       1. Check out the most relevant and up-to-date research for each topic in order to dispel myths, sift out conflicting views, and help people to prevent or heal from injuries – letting me know about new research or opposing views is helpful and greatly appreciated       2. Contribute to the local and global communities by donating 100% of my net profits from Beyond Tape to service-based non-profit organizations, such as Rotary International, Doctor’s Without Borders, Access Fund, etc.

References:

¹ Konrath S, Fuhrel-Forbis A, et al. Motives for volunteering are associated with mortality risk in older adults. Health Psychol. 2012 Jan;31(1):87-96.
² Sneed R, Cohen S. A prospective study of volunteerism and hypertension risk in older adults. Psychology and Aging, Vol 28(2), Jun 2013, 578-586.
³ Anderson ND, Damianakis T, et al. The benefits associated with volunteering among seniors: a critical review and recommendations for future research. Psychol Bull. 2014 Nov;140(6):1505-
33.
⁴ https://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/07_0506_hbr.pdf
⁵ Monnat SM1, Chandler RF2. Long Term Physical Health Consequences of Adverse Childhood Experiences. Sociol Q. 2015 Sep;56(4):723-752.
⁶https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/peoplewhowereabusedaschildrenaremorelikelytobeabusedasanadult/2017-09-27
⁷ https://southbaycommunityservices.org/domestic-violence-awareness-month/
⁸ https://www.unicef.org/media/files/BehindClosedDoors.pdf
⁹ Vargas, L. Cataldo, J., Dickson, S. (2005). Domestic Violence and Children (link is external). In G.R. Walz & R.K. Yep (Eds.), VISTAS: Compelling Perspectives on Counseling. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association; 67-69.