mental health focus

Local author to donate book proceeds to Foundation's mental health efforts

Olympia resident Barbara Mould Young dedicated her career to public health and teaching, including working as a mental health nursing professor at South Puget Sound Community College.

And now she wants to give back in the name of improving student mental health by donating proceeds from her recently published book to the Olympia Education Foundation's Mental Health Initiative.

In "Hear My Voice: My Life Unmasked," Young shares, among other things, her experience with domestic violence.

The book "brings new directions to the genre of the memoir. Rather than just relying on concise prose descriptions and inspirational insights, she underpins her stories through photos, images and the occasional poetic line," according to Olivia Archibald, professor emeritus at Saint Martin's University. "Barbara's journey to discover meaning, purpose and community through mask-making becomes a story of grace, power and awakening. The result is a beautifully crafted book full of hope and honesty."

Young, MN, MHP, RN, has also explored community and cultures from the interior of Brazil to the Native American lands on the Pacific Coast. And she has blended insights from mental health teaching into a variety of art forms, including sculpture, welding, poetry and prose. Through her unique combination of art, storytelling and cultural connection, she has designed and facilitated mask-making workshops to enable others to tell their stories.

Young thought of the Foundation as a beneficiary of her book proceeds because her sister, Carolyn Keck, who worked as a counselor at Capital High School for 16 years, was instrumental in establishing the nonprofit in 1998. Keck passed away last year, .

Young will give a reading from her book at the downtown Olympia Timberland Library, 313 - 8th Ave. S.E., at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 30, where she'll have copies available for purchase. The book can also be found for sale at Browsers Bookshop, 107 Capitol Way N., in downtown Olympia.

join our board

We are seeking new trustees!

We are looking for community members to join our volunteer Board of Trustees. This is an exciting time to come aboard, with many efforts under way intended to further strengthen our organization, programs and fundraising.

Just as we are committed to our mission to empower every student, we are committed to including all voices from our community to better inform, improve and enrich the programs and services we offer.

In particular, we are looking for people who, in addition to possessing a genuine interest in our nonprofit, have one or more of the following:

professional financial background
professional background in marketing and/or public relations
event planning experience (and a passion for it)
a professional background in mental health
experience in and/or a commitment to diversity, equity and belonging efforts
experience in education (in particular working for the Olympia School District)
community relations experience
lived experiences that will strengthen the work we do to empower every student

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the positions have been filled.

If you have questions, or need access to the application in an alternative format, contact Executive Director Katy Johansson at info@olyedfoundation.org.

learn more and apply

reserve your seats

Less than three weeks away!

Get your tickets for this free annual event, which will feature Left Bank pastries Ember Goods coffee, as well as a short program highlighting the work we do to empower students, including the Principal's Emergency Fund, Teaching & Learning Grants, and Mental Health Initiative.

We'll also honor this year's Hecks' Hero, Students' Champion, and Friend of the Foundation.

And because we are celebrating 25 years of empowering students, we'll have some fun surprises at the event to recognize this milestone.

The format of this year's breakfast will be the same as last year's. Guests will be seated in Capital High School's beautiful Performing Arts Center for a 30-minute program, and then can enjoy Left Bank pastries and Ember Goods coffee in the lobby -- or take it to go if they need to get on with their day.

Can't attend, but still want to support our work? You can make a pre-event donation using the button below.

Sponsorships are still available at multiple levels as well.

Please note that Oct. 13 is a non-student day in the Olympia School District. We have chosen this date specifically so that principals, teachers, counselors and other school staff can attend. Students are also welcome to attend (we just ask that they reserve a ticket) or volunteer. Contact events@olyedfoundation.org if you know or work with students who want to help out that morning!

apply today

First grant deadline of the year is Friday!

The first deadline for 23-24 Grant Requests from district staff who work directly with students is 5 p.m. this Friday, Sept. 29.

Guidelines, key dates, summaries of grants awarded in 22-23, and the application for all 23-24 Grant Requests can be found here.

Funding is available for:

Teaching & Learning Grants,* which support educators seeking to enhance student learning, close opportunity gaps, and meet needs that the district and individual school buildings cannot. Maximum amount granted per request: $2,000.
Browsers Books Grants, which support the establishment or expansion of classroom and school libraries. Maximum amount granted per request: $500. Funding is extremely limited; apply early! (All books must be purchased through downtown Oly's Browsers, which offers a generous discount to educators.)
Social Emotional Learning & Mental Health Grants, which support counselors, social workers, behavior techs, and restorative justice centers, and must specifically address SEL and mental health. Maximum amount granted: $2,000 (except sensory tools, which are a maximum of $500 per school per year).
Diversity Equity & Belonging (DEB) Grants, which support DEB opportunities that the district, individual school buildings, or parent organizations cannot. Funding is extremely limited; apply early!

To be considered during the first of three anticipated application periods:

Grant Requests must be submitted by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 29. Applicants will be notified by no later than Friday, Oct. 20, of the status of their request. (Key dates for all application periods are posted on our website.)
If you were awarded funding in previous years, you must have submitted a complete Post-Grant Report before any new requests will be reviewed.

*Grants are limited only by the applicant's creativity and the needs of their students. However, the Foundation does NOT consider requests for the following: sports uniforms; leases (e.g., printers, copiers, etc.); school or science fair supplies to be distributed building-wide; professional development opportunities; technology and curriculum requests that have not received prior approval from appropriate district staff.

september 2023 update