How UP Partnership is modeling wellness initiatives in the workplace

How UP Partnership is modeling wellness initiatives in the workplace

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the need, and demand, for mental health and wellness services.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• More than one in five adults live with mental illness

• Over one in five youth (13-18) either currently, or at some point in their life, have had a seriously debilitating mental illness

• About one in twenty-five U.S. adults live with a serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depression

The CDC, also states that poor mental health negatively impacts employees by decreasing their job performance and productivity, engagement with work, communication with coworkers and their daily functioning and physical capability. 

While employees in all business sectors are susceptible to mental health issues, for nonprofit employees the possibility of burnout is markedly higher due to the nature of the work being done and the distinctive stresses that come with working in the nonprofit sector.

As the National Council of Nonprofits explains, while many employers are feeling the effects of a workforce shortage, nonprofits lack the resources to address this shortage such as increasing salaries and/or offering signing bonuses. The shortage is felt by nonprofit employees, who are generally part of a smaller team, as they must continue the work required of them, as well as the work of the vacant position.

To address this crisis, it is recommended that employers take a “person first” approach to mental health initiatives. 

For UP Partnership, this is reflected in a workplace culture that not only respects, but encourages, a work-life balance.

In addition to a yearly allotted amount of paid time off (PTO), the organization completely shuts down during the week of Thanksgiving, the week between Christmas and New Years and the week of July 4. This gives employees the opportunity to spend time with their families and friends without needing to use their personal PTO. Employees also have one wellness day they can take off per month that is not a part of their PTO either. 

As Kimberly Sama, Chief Finance and Operations Officer, explains, “UP Partnership recognizes the crucial importance of mental health and wellness for individuals and communities. As an organization, we are dedicated to prioritizing and investing in mental health and wellness as a fundamental aspect of supporting our employees’ overall well-being. By providing dedicated time for self-care, implementing regular wellness days and seasonal week-long office closures, we aim to create an environment where mental health and wellness are valued and supported for the benefit of our team and the communities we serve.”

For the staff of UP Partnership, monthly wellness days are one of their favorite things about working for the organization. Staff use the days for various reasons — attend doctors appointments or family events, work on their continuing education, start or extend a weekend or simply relax and recharge — without having to use allotted PTO days.

“The ability to have a ‘use it or lose it’ day each month (separate from PTO) encourages me to take advantage of this on a regular basis, and it has been exceptionally useful to me as a working mom who is also going to school full-time,” Marie Moreno, Data Manager of K12 and Youth Development explained.

For Emily Calderón Galdeano, Ed.D., Chief Impact and Strategy Officer, “Work/Life balance is a difficult thing to accomplish, but these days give us the opportunity to take the day and use it to best serve our needs in a given month,” while noting that “wellness and health mean different things to different people.”

“I love the fact that we can take a wellness day without any questions or judgment given,” added J’Shcarla Adkins, Senior Manager of Finance and Operations. “Taking these days does not count against our PTO which allows us to really plan and take time off in a meaningful way.”

UP Partnership knows the value that each employee brings to the mission and work of the organization. By supporting staff through workplace mental health and wellness initiatives, the organization ensures that the team is healthy to be able to tackle the important work of making sure that all young people in Bexar County are ready for the future.

To learn more about UP Partnership, please visit our website.You can also follow our progress by signing up for our newsletter and following us on social media.

2023 – June Newsletter

More than 200 youth-serving professionals sharpened their skills during the Future Ready Practitioner Conference

On May 22, 2023, more than 200 youth-serving professionals across Bexar County came together at the inaugural Future Ready Practitioner Conference held at St. Mary’s University.

The conference was hosted by UP Partnership and a group of cross-sector partners made up of leaders from local school districts, colleges and universities, and youth development organizations. Many of these partners are members of UP Partnership’s My Brother’s Keeper San Antonio, Excel Beyond the Bell San Antonio, and Diplomás networks, which helped form the conference’s programming.

The conference provided professional development and networking opportunities for teachers and college faculty, principals, counselors, and academic advisors, and college admissions officers, among others.

The opening keynote on developmental relationships was provided by Benjamin Houltberg, Ph.D., President and CEO of Search Institute. During lunch, Bexar County youth provided their perspectives during a Diversity Student Panel, while Abel Gonzales, Ph.D., Director of Instructional Outreach Programs at the University of Texas at San Antonio offered the closing remarks. 

Read More.

Data Point

4,500

Estimated number of additional students per year enrolling in a postsecondary degree or credential to reach the Future Ready Bexar County Plan goal of 70% by 2030.

This data point and similar data points can be found on the recently launched Bexar County Postsecondary Metrics Dashboard on UP Partnership’s website. This dashboard illustrates college readiness, access to postsecondary education through dual credit and postsecondary enrollment. This dashboard also depicts the number of students needed by each school district and high school to reach the Future Ready Bexar County’s North Star goal of 70% postsecondary enrollment in a degree or credential program by 2030.

In the News: An Op-Ed by our CEO and Board Chair in the San Antonio Express-News

On May 25, the San Antonio Express News published an op-ed co-authored by CEO Ryan Lugalia-Hollon, Ph.D. and board chair Elaine Mendoza titled “Paving the way for a brighter future for young people.”

The piece is a high level synopsis of the impact and progress made by Future Ready Bexar County Plan partners throughout the first year of the plan’s implementation. Further examples of how youth-serving organizations are moving the work through Future Ready Bexar County’s  equity pillars of healing, access and voice can be found here.

Read the article here.

Latest UPdates

Meet UP Partnership’s K12 and Youth Development Team

UP Partnership’s K12 and Youth Development team collaborates with community partners through the Excel Beyond the Bell San Antonio (EBBSA) network San Antonio network and Excel Academy to strengthen the student experience in Bexar County. The team consists of liz moseley, Director of K12 and Youth Development, Shelby Drayton, Senior Manager of Coaching and Facilitation who leads Excel Academy and Sarah Hinojosa, Manager of K12 and Youth Development who leads EBBSA. Read more about them here.

UP Partnership and Community Partners visit Harlem Children’s Zone

In early May, Harlem Children’s Zone hosted a cross-sector of Future Ready Bexar County Plan community partners including Alamo Colleges District, Big Brothers Big Sisters of South Texas, Communities in Schools of San Antonio, San Antonio Area Foundation, United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County and UP Partnership. The lessons learned on the trip will help community implementation of the Future Ready Bexar County Plan.

PRIDE MONTH

June is Pride Month. At UP Partnership, we know that racism and bigotry can take a psychological toll on marginalized people. We stand with the LGTBQ+ community against the homophobic and transphobic bills that could block vital care and access to LGBTQ+ young people. Every child, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, deserves to have the support of their community.

Partner Spotlights

Future Ready partner organizations that empower girls and women

In March, UP Partnership celebrated Women’s History Month by highlighting Future Ready partners organizations that empower girls and women to be the leaders of the future. Included in the story were Empower House, Girl Scouts of Southwest Texas, Girls on the Run Bexar County, Lemonade Circle and YWCA San Antonio. Read More.

How 100 Black Men is changing young people’s lives through workforce programming

100 Black Men of San Antonio “focuses on education, economic empowerment, health and wellness and leadership development all anchored in mentorship,” the organization’s local Executive Director Dr. Milton Harris, DBA, told UP Partnership.

The organization works in the community by offering programs that focus on alternative high school completion, workforce credentialing, creating mentorship relationships, among others. Read more about the impact 100 Black Men is having in Bexar County here.

Excel Academy and Restorative Practices Collaborative Recruitment

Applications for the new cohorts of Excel Academy and Restorative Practices Collaborative are now open! If you are interested in Excel Academy, contact Shelby Drayton at Shelby@uppartnership.org. If you are interested in Restorative Practices Collaborative, contact Suzette Solorzano at Suzette@uppartnership.org. 

Want to be spotlighted? Contact Carrie Ballard-Banuelos at Carrie@UPPartnership.org with your story to potentially be featured in our stories!

Partner Resources

UP Partnership’s Future Ready partners are a wealth of information and resources that can be used to elevate the being done in Bexar County. As the backbone organization, we are committed to sharing these resources with all of our partners.

Request for Presenters:
Future Ready Practitioner Conference on May 22

At the Inaugural Future Ready Practitioner Conference, cross-sector partners presented on a diverse topics such as changes in the 2023-2024 financial aid process, strengthening school and family relationship, the effects of STEM peer mentors and many more. All presentations can be found here.

New Horizons and Opportunities Grant Request for Proposals

Carlos Maestas, Founder and Chief Storysmith at Key Ideas, joined the Communication Council’s May meeting for professional development in authentic storytelling, the power of positioning and simplifying your message. His presentation can be found here.

Communications Council on May 11 

The Racial Equity Toolkit, from the Collective Impact Forum, outlines ways community organizations can operationalize racial equity within their team. Through individual reflection and conversation, organizations can gain skills to center racial equity in their work.

Future Ready Partners provide local educational and youth development leaders with professional development and networking during inaugural event

Future Ready Partners provide local educational and youth development leaders with professional development and networking during inaugural event

On May 22, UP Partnership’s My Brother’s Keeper San Antonio, Excel Beyond the Bell San Antonio and Diplomás networks hosted the inaugural Future Ready Practitioner Conference which brought together cross-sector partners made up of leaders from local school districts, colleges and universities and youth development organizations at St. Mary’s University.

Programming at the conference focused on providing professional development and networking opportunities for teachers and college faculty, principals, counselors and academic advisors and college admissions officers, among others.

jost regular
trenda bold
trenda heavy
trenda regular
trenda semibold

“The UP Partnership Practitioner Conference was an opportunity to celebrate innovations in practice for youth across our Future Ready Bexar County partners,” noted Dr. Abel Gonzales, Director of Instructional Outreach Programs at the University of Texas at San Antonio, “Teachers, faculty and staff members from every level of the education ecosystem shared how equity minded practitioners are making a difference in better serving the leaders of tomorrow.” Gonzales closed the event by inspiring the participants to network to move their collaborative work forward as a team beyond the confines of the conference. 

In addition to workshops and networking, key sessions included an opening keynote on Developmental Relationships by Dr. Benjamin Houltberg, President and CEO of Search Institute.

“The Developmental Relationship Framework gives us all — educators, youth development staff, community partners — a common language to work through,” Jenny Castro, Executive Director of Empower House, said. With programs and sessions that furthered that framework, “the UP Partnership Practitioner Conference invited us to imagine how our programs and services are strengthened and how impact is multiplied when we prioritize doing the hard work of building relationships with the youth in Bexar County,” she added.

Student leaders also provided their perspectives during a Diversity Student Panel at lunch moderated by UP Partnership’s Director of K12 and Youth Development, liz moseley. 

moseley really appreciated “the young people’s honesty and vulnerability to share about themselves and on behalf of their peers,” they said. 

Each young person “spoke with so much passion” and specifically wanted to touch on mental health as a central topic of discussion, they said. 

Providing access to information and resources to grow and flourish social-emotional learning capacity and elevating youth voice aligns with UP Partnership’s Future Ready Bexar County Plan launched in April of last year. This community-wide plan brings together more than 85 partners working toward the plan’s collective North Star goal — to increase the percentage of Bexar County’s High School graduates enrolling in postsecondary degrees or credential programs to 70% by 2030. In Bexar County, that number is currently around 50%. This plan focuses on the three equity pillars of Healing, Access and Voice — the must HAVEs for Equity amongst Bexar County’s young people.

If your organization is ready to join in on the Future Ready movement, please contact admin@uppartnership.org to find out more information on how you can become a Future Ready partner or donate to the work here.You can also follow our progress by signing up for our newsletter and following us on social media.

Meet UP Partnership’s K12 & Youth Development team

Meet UP Partnership's K12 & Youth Development team

UP Partnership’s K12 and Youth Development team collaborates with community partners to strengthen the student experience for young people in Bexar County using SEARCH Institute’s Developmental Relationships as the framework with a racial equity lens. 

Specifically, the team leads the Excel Beyond the Bell San Antonio (EBBSA) network and Excel Academy, a leadership program for youth development professionals focusing on racial equity, continuous improvement, and Search Institute’s Developmental Relationships Framework. EBBSA works with various youth development organizations to develop high quality standards for youth serving programs. This is one step toward ensuring that all young people in Bexar County have access to the development relationships they need to succeed.

EBBSA’s Northstar directive co-developed with these partner organizations is that by 2030, the network will have substantially increased access to high quality youth development programs from the current baseline (to include dedicated focus on out of school time) with a focus on partnerships that meet targeted needs.

Throughout the Excel Academy program, youth-serving professionals learn and create an implementation plan to better connect and build transformative relationships throughout their organization and with those they serve.

The team spearheading the work of EBBSA and the Excel Academy consists of liz moseley Director of K12 and Youth Development, Shelby Drayton, Senior Manager of Coaching and Facilitation, and Sarah Hinojosa, Manager: Community Engagement.

Get to know the K12 & Youth Development Team

liz moseley was drawn to collective impact work because they believe in “working for the liberation of everyone and the power of the beloved community to create spaces of transformation.”

“As a queer BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and/or person of color], I have spent my entire career empowering young people and educators to change the world,” moseley said.

They graduated summa cum laude from The University of Texas at San Antonio as a first generation student with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies.

In their freetime, liz enjoys creating art using wood, stained glass, and clay mediums; reading and learning; and having meaningful conversations that deepen relationships.

liz offers the following advice to all:
• Embrace and internalize Lucille Clifton’s poem, the lessons of the falling leaves;
• Read Kahlil Gibrand’s The Prophet as a guide to navigate various components of life;
• Spend time doing things that bring you immense joy;
• Treat others how they want to be treated; and
• “To be love, lead with love, love openly, and tell people you love them.”

Shelby Drayton is originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and attended Drexel University in Philadelphia. After graduating, she joined AmeriCorps which brought her to San Antonio.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time in nature, or laughing in the company of friends and family.

Shelby is also involved in the San Antonio community, as a member of the Downtown Rotary Club of San Antonio serving on the social committee, service committee and co-lead of the Sam Houston High School’s Interact Club. She also sits on the board of Snack Pak 4 Kids, an organization forced on enhancing education outcomes by ending weekend hunger for children.

Shelby’s advice to all is simple — “Be yourself, love yourself, embrace yourself!”

Sarah Hinojosa grew up in San Antonio with five siblings and attended The University of Texas at San Antonio. Before joining the team, Sarah spent nine years as a teacher and two years as an assistant principal.

A few of Sarah’s favorite quotes are:
• “Only take advice from someone you would want to trade places with.”
• “The fastest way to reach a goal is slowly.”
• ” The number one reason most people fail to meet their goals is that they sacrifice what they want most for what they want now.”

For more information about Excel Beyond the Bell San Antonio and the Excel Academy, please visit www.uppartnership.org or donate to the work here.

You can also follow our progress by signing up for our newsletter and by following us on social media.