Students think that the best thing about getting to go to school assemblies is GETTING OUT OF CLASS! Yes they are mandatory, sort of, and are for the large student body. But when students get close to the gym or auditorium and they hear the type of music they like, they start to wonder if they might just like it this time!
I don’t mean to sound partial, but our school speakers truly are the very best in the nation! They are relevant, exciting and interactive. But it’s so much more than that.
Imagine walking into a group of former NFL speakers! They bring their super bowl rings, and they do feats of strength like rolling up a frying pan, tearing a very think phone book and doing push-ups with big people standing on their backs!
Then we add to that, profound speeches that students actually love to listen to. So they walked in hearing great music, but really only wanted to get out class. Now they are engaged and excited to be with these NFL speakers! The topics hit home, mainly because many of them have lived what these students are grappling with in their own lives right now. We have the privilege of working with some very interesting school speakers, made up of NFL speakers, Harlem Globetrotters, Olympic athletes and Music Artists! One of our best NFL speakers is Keith Davis. He not only speaks almost every day, but he also helps develop younger NFL speakers so that one day, they will be speaking when ready, motivating students to reach their own dreams and destinies. One of his famous phrases is that “no one is born a loser – we are born choosers.” This is profound when students realize that they don’t have to take what comes. They are able to choose or make choices for their outcome!
Our signature program presented by our school speakers, that is so needed during these days, is our I.M.A.G.I.N.E. Program! It is built for students – elementary, junior high and high school, to help those who are suffering from isolation, family dysfunction, social and emotional issues that affect their mental health, depression, suicide ideation and for the most at-risk students crying out silently that they are hurt and even those that may want to hurt others because of their severe hurting.
As adults, we know that the most hurting are really HEROES in the making! But who will help them to know, believe and act like the heroes they are born to be, deep down inside. Our school speakers are trained in this!
Our parent company, Can You Hear Me Now has been in operation for over seventeen years. We have been sending in school speakers to help students each and every year since our inception. But with the onset of social media and COVID-19, things have gotten much worse for students. Depression, drug use and suicide have skyrocketed. I can say that we haven’t and will not sit idly by, but we will step up, passionately, to help these students. Because of social media and the ability to message our NFL speakers, many report HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE SAVED FROM SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION, just because of the caring and motivational encouragement from our school speakers!
One key person in our organization is Damon Lenahan. He worked for the world-renown leader, Tony Robbins. Damon “coached the coaches!” He came to realize that businesses will make it in our country, but kids may not, without us all working together! He is with I.M.A.G.I.N.E. now and is a very valuable asset for paving the way to helping hundreds of thousands of students nation-wide!
Something that may seem foreign to some of you is that many of our most dangerous, destructive or at-risk students literally have NOT ONE PERSON talking to them one-on-one. Can you imagine the feeling of loneliness and isolation when you feel that no one values you? When this is occurring, students turn to other forms of belonging. And we know that these are normally not constructive. They can perpetuate isolation. Students stumble upon many different causes that encourage them to do destructive things. Our school speakers are so grateful to be able to help save kids from suicide, depression, bullying, fatherlessness and more.
With I.M.A.G.I.N.E. we presume that each student is either a “hero, a villain or a nobody.” It is our job to coach them and mine the gold that each person in born with. Yes-we wish their parents would do this for them, but this may bot be happening for various reasons. Or it might be, but the child does not want that.
Our NFL speakers are trained to dig deep with them and bring out the best that is there! Each of our school speakers spend one-on-one time with these students, using our I.M.A.G.I.N.E. Curriculum along with our Hero’s Journal.
I – Identity, M– Mindset, A– Attitude, G– Goals, I– Imagine, N– Never Give Up, E– Excel and Get Excited!
Every young person needs help in school, their lives and help to make good choices. Much is thrown at them constantly. But our school speakers love to help because they are very caring people. Presenting to students and the preparation that goes into this, flying on planes, staying in hotels away from their own children and families can be taxing. They do not do this as a hobby! It is our school speakers’ full-time jobs! I.M.A.G.I.N.E. can be tough since they are working with the most at-risk students in the schools.
It is a huge blessing to get to see lives changed in these students as a result of our school speakers. We are so grateful that they want to listen and learn from our school speakers in Can You Hear Me Now!