Sometimes, all it takes is one simple, positive thought to turn a bad day into a good one.
The folks at the Wyomissing School District and Wyomissing Public Library are doing their part to make those thoughts a little easier to come by.
The school district and library have teamed up for a special project aimed at improving people’s moods. They have created a series of yard signs featuring 11 different positive messages for people throughout Wyomissing, West Reading and Wyomissing Hills to display.
“It’s a campaign to say that it’s OK to have bad days,” said Jessica Lengle, the school district’s director of pupil services. “But a bad day, or a bad incident, doesn’t define who you are.”
Lengle is the one who came up with the idea for the sign project after seeing a news story on television about a similar initiative during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The idea was to try to normalize the mental health struggles that so many people were facing during the public health emergency.
That includes students, who have reported an unprecedented amount mental health issues over the past few years. It’s a crisis that the school district has made addressing a priority, Lengle said.
The district created a student mental health task force last year, and the library was one of the community organizations to participate. So when Lengle got the idea for the sign initiative and was looking for a partner to help bring it to life, she turned to Colleen Stamm, the library’s director.
“I was actually thrilled when Jess reached out,” Stamm said, seeing the library has had a close-up view of the growing mental health crisis.
Stamm said the library offers a variety of mental health support programs, but often people don’t want to attend because of a perceived social stigma attached to mental health. The sign campaign seemed like a great way to help address that stigma, she said.
So the district and library teamed up, compiling a list of 11 positive messages that have been printed on 250 yard signs. They feature statements like “You are enough” and “You got this.”
“I really like ‘Tomorrow is another day,’” Lengle said. “Sometimes you really do need to start over on a new day.”
The signs have been on sale since August, costing $10 each. The money raised from their sale will go toward purchasing mental health pamphlets, books and other materials the district and library will make available to the public.
So far, about 150 signs have been sold.
Lengle said part of what drew her to the project is its understated nature. The signs are simple, but their messages poignant.
“I hope they’re just a gentle reminder to be kind, to pass on kind words,” she said. “You don’t know what someone else is going through.”
Stamm said she’s proud to be taking part in the effort, even if its impact is small.
“If it just brightens one person’s day and makes them change the way they’re feeling, then that’s a success,” she said.
Of course, the campaign has already done that, and more. Stamm and Lengle said they have heard from community members touched by the initiative, and some community members have been so excited by it they’ve purchased all 11 signs.
Lengle said she hopes the initiative continues to take off and that other places take notice. She said she would love for other communities to hear about what’s going on in Wyomissing and think about creating their own version of the effort.
“That’s how I learned about it,” she said. “I think that would be lovely, if it spread past the borders of Wyomissing.”
For information on purchasing the signs contact the Wyomissing Public Library at 610-374-2385 or the Wyomissing School District at 610-374-0739.
Source: Berkshire mont
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