#GivingTuesday Global Movement

GivingTuesday is a global movement where everyone can make a difference!Join organizations, individuals andcommunities around the world in givingback on November 30 #GivingTuesday! We’re looking forward to November 30 -this year’s #GivingTuesday. Stay tuned forour plans and share how you can make adifference this #GivingTuesday!Find more details at www.givingtuesday.org

Purple For Purpose

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The Spokane Regional Domestic Violence Coalition along with Stop the Silence Spokane, has created a fun and easy way for businesses to participate in the End the Violence campaign for the month of October.  

We have pulled together over 38 local businesses, mostly food and drink establishments, as Awareness Partners for our Purple for a Purpose drink promotion. Each establishment is highlighting a purple drink(s), food and/or dessert in support of raising awareness in our community. 

We would like to challenge you, as our valued board members and general members to frequent these establishments all month long. When you do, please,

  1. Order the purple drink or dessert
  2. Take a selfie
  3. Post on Social Media with hashtags #purple4apurpose #endtheviolencespokane #stopthesilencespokane 
  4. Tag Spokane Domestic Violence Coalition and Stop the Silence as well as the place you are eating at.
  5. Share within your social sphere and organization

There are a total of 38 Awareness partners, and some have more than 1 location. We challenge you to visit as many of these participating establishments as possible this month, share your visit on social media and invite your organization to participate as well. Your patronage will not only increase Domestic Violence awareness in our community but also show your support for the hospitality businesses which have been hit so hard during the Covid pandemic. 

Please see the list of participating businesses in the above flyer.  SRDVC thanks you for everything you do to support us as we work to End the Violence. 

Driving Out Dating Abuse

Special thanks to Downriver Grill and Downriver Golf Course as well as all those who came out to play in the second annual “Drive Out Dating Abuse” golf tournament.

Shout out to the following:We could not have done this amazing event without the help of our fabulous sponsors:
MAGGIE & JIM RANDALL – OUR TITLE SPONSOR!
WALKER’S FURNITURE 
CITIBROKERS
DAVE VOSE-NELSON SECURITIES
CALIBER: BLAINE & WHITNEY ROLSTAD 
KALISPEL 
NUMERICA
SHOUT MORTGAGE: KEN BOTAI 
JOHN URQUARDT: TENET INLAND CAPITAL
KEN PICKENS:ACCESS UNLIMITED & SECURITY
JEFF MCDONALD: MIRAMAC METALS
KURT FINE-WOMEN’S ASSOC. OF HEALTH
WINDERMERE SERVICES MOUNTAIN WEST
BAKER CONSTRUCTION: DUSTIN GARBER 
DARRELL KIDWELL: FISCHER CONSTRUCITON GROUP
PAUL RIECKERS: PYROTEK 
RON CRAIG: RV CRAIG CONSTRUCTION
JEFF AND AMY MILLER:DSI CONSTRUCTION
VIC PLESE & NAVI VIRK $500 EACH
GREG DECKARD: STATE BANK
TERI CRITZER: 
PMC MORTGAGE-
RYAN LEE – FIRST INTERSTATE BANK-
Additional thanks to our dedicated volunteers: Board members: Heidi Lauritzen:President of Create Your Statement, Ed Hoffman, Whitney RolstadVolunteers: Shelli Agost, Jordyn Agost, Stephanie Nix, Emmy Wise, Lilian Wise
Special appreciation to: Amy Miller for her amazing sign on hole 18!Steve Connor and staff at Downriver Golf CourseDownriver Grill for their donation of gift cardsCircling Raven for their donation of 4 roundsO’Doherty’s for their donation of gift cards
Gratitude to all those who donated amazing baskets: Blaine & Whitney Rolstad with Caliber – Cooler Tailgate Anne Cowles & Anne Oakley – Tea & TeeSpokane Boys – Charcuterie Bob Castle/Kailispel – Stay and Play golfJon Kerwin – Putter
Randy Schwaegler – WSUCassie Anderson- Party

Finally, Congrats to all the Winners!

1ST PLACE MEN’S
DAVE MORASCH
JIM HECKEL
MIKE SANCHEZ
AUSTIN BILLETER

2ND PLACE MEN’S
BRIAN MONK
CLIFF DUGGER
JEFF GAUVIN
KC FLEISH

1ST PLACE WOMEN’S
RO BURY
KATHY HILL
MARY DUHON
DONA FORRESTER

2ND PLACE WOMEN’S
KAREN MATTOCKS
JOYCE THOMPSON
NANCY BLAKENEY
JUANITA ROTH

1ST PLACE CO-ED
RYAN MOFFET
KATE MOFFET
JORDAN PAGE
STEPHANIE PAGE

2ND PLACE CO-ED
RYAN DECKARD
LEXY SICILIA
JT PHELAN
CLAIRE NELSON

MEN’S LONGDRIVE
AUSTIN BILLETER

WOMEN’S LONGDRIVE
SAMMIE HAXTON

MEN’S KP
BRIAN MONK

WOMEN’S KP
BARB RICHEY

Lemonade & Lemondrops 2021

A big shout out to La’Rive Spa at Northern Quest Resort & Casino for an amazing evening – “Lemonade & Lemon Drops. Special thanks to Dena Kelley, Leslie Bytnar, and all who came out to support Create Your Statement. Thank you for helping our youth to prevent dating abuse and develop leadership skills!

A Warm Welcome to our New Board Members

We could not achieve the magic we have today without the support of our incredible team. Our board is made up of people who do amazing things for this community and we are so grateful to them. Please see our board members here. Right now we want to congratulate our two newest members to the team. Please welcome Wendy Watson and Jordan Ferguson.

JORDAN FERGUSON

“I have been in the Domestic Violence Unit for just over three years and have talked with you at the Spokane Regional Domestic Violence Coalition meetings.  I am a strong believer in collaboration.  I also understand the dynamics of Domestic Violence and the importance of educating youth before they are locked into a cycle of violence.”

Sgt Jordan Ferguson M.A.
Domestic Violence Uni
t
WENDY WATSON

“I’m excited at the opportunity to serve on the board for Create Your Statement.  I’ve spent my entire career working in Spokane Public Schools for at-risk students and communities.  Currently, as Principal of Garry Middle School, I’m dealing with students on a daily basis who don’t understand what a healthy relationship looks like; whether it’s one based on dating, friendships, family, or working with school staff.  So much of their dysfunction is learned from the home and is based on trying to control other people instead of understanding the concepts of love and respect as a basis for healthy relationships.”


Wendy Watson, Ed.D.
Principal, Spokane Public Schools

For the Love of February

Make A Statement Monday

Create Your Statement is excited to have launched our Make A Statement Monday program.  This format is offered the first Monday of each month. This is a great way for youth to stay plugged in to our mission while making a difference in their community.  We offer specific talking points to discuss and receive genuine input from the participants while enjoying pizza and coming up with various volunteer opportunities to give back to the community. 

Currently, we are doing a drive for Project Beauty Share.  If you would like to contribute to this drive please contact us via email at info@createyourstatement.com or call (509) 993-7000

Kahlua & Cocoa

Special thanks to Northern Quest Casino and La Rive Spa for hosting a lovely evening of pampering, appetizers and drinks while supporting our youth to prevent dating abuse.

GirlCon NW

Create Your Statement is honored to present our Dating Abuse 101 course to local Girl Scouts and parents on March 14th at The Community School. For more information go to www.girlconnw.com.

Garry Middle School

Create Your Statement is thrilled to welcome Garry Middle School as a new partner! In February we had the privilege of attending the school during Teen Dating Abuse Prevention and Awareness Week. Several young men and women were excited to sign up for our REDFLAG and COMPASS program.  In addition, we will be instructing our Dating Abuse 101 course to the school this spring!

Scheduled Dating Abuse 101 classes:

Mt. Spokane May 8th
Mead High School May 13th

Create Your Statement is excited to partner with The Zone Project – Shaping Our Success.We will be presenting Dating Abuse 101 to youth and parents on April 14th at Shaw Middle School. To learn more please go to www.thezoneproject.org.

SAVE THE DATE!

Join us for the Happy Girls Run on September 19th, 2020

Donations are always appreciated. We thank you for supporting our mission.

Donate Today

RInging in the New Year

We are so thankful to have had the chance to work with young women and men in our community.  As we prepare for the new year, we are looking back and reflecting on our impact on the youth of our region. We are proud to report that we have reached over 1,500 students in 2019 and over 8,000 since our inception!  Your support and advocacy makes this possible…Thank you.


We are thankful to the individuals who recently attended our Train the Trainer instruction this past December.  Your heart for our mission will allow us to expand and reach more youth with necessary information on healthy relationships amongst today’s youth.
Create Your Statement completed the seven-week REDFLAG class with 26 young ladies all from Northwood, Salk, and Glover. 


The energy of that many teen girls is exciting and contagious! We are proud to make a positive difference in their lives by providing education surrounding prevention of dating abuse, leadership and improved self-esteem. Our course focuses on empowerment, boundary setting and overall focus for their future. Each week there were stories, laughter and sometimes tears.  We are so grateful to have been able to touch the hearts of these young girls. We were honored to call Salk Middle School a new partner in our mission work!

As Daybreak Youth Services comes to a close in our community, we are hopeful that our message through the Dating Abuse 101 course will be at the forefront of the young ladies who recently attended. Thank you Daybreak for our history together in changing lives through education. 
We have been busy in the last couple of months…we are honored to interface with our community.The following are some recent presentations for our youth and professionals wanting to learn more about our programming:

  • REDFLAG – 26
  • Daybreak – 29
  • Mead High School – 129
  • Northwood Middle School – 300
  • Mt. Spokane High School – 210
  • Train the Trainer – 8

Love is Respect

Create Your Statement’s mission is to bring education and awareness to the prevention of dating abuse while developing leadership and character development among today’s youth. Our desire is for young men and women to understand their personal value and strengths before they are in a situation that they do not understand. Because dating abuse is centered around power and control, Create Your Statement is focused on lowering the dial of domestic violence as a whole by providing prevention strategies to help young people in the hopes to prevent further victims of dating violence.
Why Focus on Young People?

  • Girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 24 experience the highest rate of intimate partner violence — almost triple the national average.
  • Among female victims of intimate partner violence, 94% of those age 16-19 and 70% of those age 20-24 were victimized by a current or former boyfriend or girlfriend.
  • Violent behavior typically begins between the ages of 12 and 18.
  • The severity of intimate partner violence is often greater in cases where the pattern of abuse was established in adolescence.

While we bring a solid foundation of education and statistics to the table, we also focus on leadership, empowerment, and healthy relationships. Although our curricula discusses warning signs and abusive behavior, today we want to focus on respect and what love is. We are advocates for healthy boundaries between young people. This is the foundation for the rest of their lives and we want them to know that when someone loves you, they respect you. They respect your personal space, your boundaries, your needs, wants and desires. Respect is one of the greatest expressions of love. It is friendship, understanding, communication and commitment. In teaching this we are creating a guideline for true and genuine relationships. Create Your Statement by no means promotes dating, however if young people decide to enter into a dating relationship we want them to be educated and safe. AWARENESS, PREVENTION AND LEADERSHIP ARE KEY!

Create Your Statement Visits The Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations

Recently, Create Your Statement had the privilege of working with our local Healing Lodge Of The Seven Nations.


The Healing Lodge of the Seven Nations is a Native American youth residential treatment facility which provides a safe and caring healing environment for all adolescents, and their families, in need. Their wellness program is grounded, daily, in balanced traditional, cultural and spiritual values and practices. These values and practices foster respect, honesty, generosity, strong cultural identification and hope for positive life changes. The Healing Lodge treatment program integrates traditional, spiritual and cultural values with chemical dependency counseling to create a holistic approach toward healing. Because our mission closely resembles their vision, it is the perfect facility for us to provide our programs. Our desire is to interface with these vulnerable youth in their time of healing, goal setting and encouragement for a positive healthy future. 


Ophelia and Jenny have just wrapped up the two 7-week curriculums, COMPASS for young men and REDFLAG for young women. These programs make a strong impact in the lives of the youth we serve.
So many of these young adults come from broken homes where trauma is commonplace in regards to unstable living conditions, violence and substance abuse. Our programs inspire leadership, promote healthy relationships, increase self-esteem and encourage goal setting. This education furthers the possibility of a brighter tomorrow in the lives of these amazing young people.To see more information on the Healing Lodge, visit their website here.