Join us on July 21, 2018 as we Climb out of the Darkness!
When: Saturday, July 21, 2018 10am-2pm
Where: Martin Luther King Jr., Park, Corvallis, OR
What: Please register here to join us on July 21, and please also consider donating to our cause. We are raising money to support a perinatal support group in Corvallis. More details about our event can be found on Facebook.
Who: Anyone who has experienced perinatal mood and anxiety issues like postpartum depression, prenatal anxiety, postpartum OCD, PTSD, or postpartum psychosis, plus anyone who cares about supporting perinatal mental health. Postpartum depression and anxiety affects 1 in every 7 women, so you know at least one person who has struggled with these issues. Who do you climb for?
How: Register and/or make a donation to show your support. Show moms and dads who are struggling right now that they are not alone. The mental health of families matters!
Why: Our local event has three aims, in line with the mission of the national event.
1. To bring families together, united, to honor the struggle and celebrate the resilience of overcoming perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
2. To promote awareness, prevention, and treatment of mental health issues related to childbearing worldwide, and to showcase local resources for families who are dealing with PMADs.
3. To raise funds to further sustain and develop the perinatal mood support group launched by Proud Mama Support Services in 2017. The support group is our PSI-approved community project, meaning 75% of the funds we raise for Postpartum Support International through Climb Out of the Darkness will be returned to us to fund the continuation and expansion of the support group. Our goal is to raise $6,000 through Climb Out of the Darkness, which will fund our local support group for a full year, as well as support the Perinatal Action Fund through PSI, a fund designated for programming geared toward underserved and marginalized populations who struggle with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
Read on to find out more!
Climb Out of the Darkness® is held near the longest day of the year annually, in communities across the US and the globe, to help shine the most light on perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. The event features mothers and others joining together to climb mountains and hike trails to represent their symbolic rise out of the darkness of perinatal mental illness and into the light of hope and recovery.
Climb Out of the Darkness® is the world’s largest event raising awareness of maternal mental illnesses like postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety & OCD, postpartum PTSD, postpartum psychosis, bipolar/peripartum onset, and pregnancy depression and anxiety.
We bring people together to help end the stigma and silence around mental health struggles related to pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period, and we honor the struggles of ourselves and others to overcome perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs).
Help us shine the light of hope with our words and our advocacy efforts so that our fellow mothers, and all parents, will receive better information and better treatment for mental health around pregnancy and postpartum, and their new families will get off to the healthy and strong start they deserve.
Donations are tax-deductible. Here's why funding our local team matters:
Proud Mama Support Services hosts a perinatal support group in Corvallis Oregon, which is an approved Community Project through Postpartum Support International.
This year we have big plans!
2018 is the second year for our perinatal mental health support group, and as we build on the momentum we have already created, we look to the future for how we can best serve our community. Our goals for this coming year include:
1. Start a second meeting time to accommodate more participants. (UPDATE: Due to increased interest and participation, we opened a second meeting time in April 2018 and now have two flourishing groups, one at 9-11am and one at 12-2pm).
2. Train one or two more people through Postpartum Support International to be additional facilitators for the support group.
3. Host and facilitate a day-long retreat once a year, specifically geared toward parents who have experience the loss of a pregnancy or infant.
Of the funds raised by our local team, 75% will be returned to Proud Mama Support Services to fund and expand the perinatal support group. Through last year's climb, we secured a space for the group to meet, and enough funds to train and compensate our facilitator for her time and skills. We launched the group in October 2017, and to date, we have had between 5 and 10 participants come to each meeting. In total, we have provided around 35 women with a safe place to let their guard down without being judged, speak their truth, and gain new perspective and skills around healing from things like anxiety in pregnancy, and postnatal depression and OCD. Click here to read our FAQs about the perinatal support group.
Where will the money go? The support group is offered to the public at no cost to participants. The funds we raise will be allocated in the following way, which ensures the quality and sustainability of the support group:
80% Staffing (Facilitator's compensation, training, and administrative support)
20% Food and supplies for group (Snacks, printing costs for handouts, notepads, pens, large easel pad, craft supplies, etc.)
The use of our meeting space is generously donated by Restore Physical Therapy.
The other 25% will remain with Postpartum Support International to support projects such as a 24/7 Warmline, workshops, trainings, and webinars for professionals, parents, and community members, and the other fantastic resources and information that PSI provides on how best to support people who suffer from perinatal mental health struggles, from anxiety in pregnancy to postpartum psychosis. 12% of these funds go directly to programming for underserved and marginalized populations who struggle with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
