A Community Thrives is a crowdfunding and grant program sponsored by the Gannett Foundation. RISE is participating this year and hopes to raise at least $5,000.
We ask you, our followers, our supporters, to show up for this challenge! You know how important our work is—and how challenging it is to do it in Northeast Tennessee.
Donations of any size help with our work, so we welcome whatever you can give AND encourage you to be as generous as you can. $5,000 will help us expand our educational programming and collective impact work to help create a safer, healthier community. And raising at least $3,000 puts us in the running for grant opportunities as well.
Why, you might wonder, should you support RISE? Well, here is a rundown of what’s been going on at RISE lately.
Education
RISE offers responsible, inclusive sexuality education, diversity/equity/inclusion education, and trauma-informed care education because they all are intimately entwined. We love collaborating with other organizations, so if you or your organization are interested in any of the educational programming RISE offers, please get in touch.
Full Our Whole Lives comprehensive sex ed curricula for ages Kindergarten through older adult
Topic-based classes such as:
How to be an Askable Adult
Gender Diversity
Let’s Talk About Sex
Healthy/Unhealthy Relationships
How do we do diversity and inclusion?
Trauma-informed Approaches
Trauma-informed Approaches for Faith Communities
Online programming
Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health
Colorado State University
Day Reporting Center
Sexy Sex Ed Summer Camp 2021
TN Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence
YW CARES
Peer sexuality educators and facilitators meet with TN state senator Rusty Crowe in Feb. 2021.
Peer Sexuality Educators—a peer-led program for rising 9-12 grade students. There is equal emphasis on:
Education—topics educators want to learn/teach about
Advocacy—with state legislators about racial, sexual, and reproductive justice
Service—including developing an online GSA and an inclusive online book club through the Elizabethton public library.
The first year of the peer sexuality educator program happened almost entirely online, but we are excited for a safe hybrid experience in the 2021-22 school year. If you know youth who would be interested in this great leadership, volunteer, and education opportunity, please get in touch!
Interns—RISE has hosted undergraduate and graduate students from Human Services and Public Health for practica, internships and field studies. We strive to provide a rich,meaningful experience for them and, in return, get so much from working with these creative, motivated students.
Collective Impact
RISE is the backbone organization of Collective Impact for Emotional and Sexual Health (CIESH), which centers the emotional and sexual health of all people by:
Increasing access to knowledge and constituent-focused resources.
Promoting trauma-informed approaches.
Actively opposing stigma and bias to reduce shame and fear
Current CIESH working groups include
Trauma-informed sexuality education
Culturally competent office practices (medical and mental healthcare)
Person-centered SA/DV response services
Patient-centered Ob/Gyn practices
RISE also participates in STRONG ACC, Ballad Health’s Accountable Care Community collective impact initiative that seeks to develop health, resilience, and opportunity for the next generation. RISE serves on the ACEs, Trauma and Resilience Working Group.
Other Partnerships
Inclusivity Committee of the TN Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence
Educational partnership with A Step Ahead Tri-Cities, which removes barriers to long-acting, reversible contraception in upper east Tennessee. RISE and A Step Ahead both provide fact-based, responsible, inclusive sexuality education, and we work together to meet programming needs in our area.
Facilitator Training
RISE organizes Our Whole Lives sexuality education facilitator training. Our next training will be in Spring 2021 for facilitating grades 7-12.
We are developing two unique sex ed facilitator trainings:
Accessible Sexuality Education--how to be a more effective facilitator for autistic folx and people with intellectual and developmental differences and how to explain the need to their guardians and caregivers.
Trauma-informed Sexuality Education--how to intentionally bring trauma-informed approaches into the sex ed classroom at any age.
RISE also provides Trauma-informed Care facilitator training.
RISE is a member of the Sex Ed Collaborative, which envisions and works toward a world in which all young people receive high-quality, comprehensive sexuality education. The SEC is made up of sex education experts from 23 organizations across the United States who share the common goal to nurture K-12 school-based sexuality education programs.
STI and Pregnancy Prevention
With generous support in the form of internal and external condoms, dental dams, and lube from Planned Parenthood Knoxville, RISE distributes barrier prevention at its own tabling and education events and provides regular distribution to:
Day Reporting Center, Johnson City
Hunger First, Kingsport
Robertson Pride Center, ETSU, Johnson City
Seasons of Hope, Johnson City
Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies, ETSU, Johnson City
Women’s Resource Center, ETSU, Johnson City
If you or your organization need internal or external condoms (including latex-free), dental dams, or lube, please let us know.
If you are interested in low- or n0-cost long-acting reversible contraception, please contact A Step Ahead Tri-Cities.
Recent Honors
Learn more about RISE beginning at 7:43.
In April 2021 RISE: Healthy for Life was honored as educators of the year by Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi’s “Standing Strong Knoxville” event.