1.
Erika’s Lighthouse
Final Deliverables
Winter 2015
Marcel, Richard, Sanchita, Yu Jung, Yuri

2.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction​………………………………………………………………………………….2
2. Outreach Strategy Recommendations
I. Recommendation 1: Strategically Target Schools…………………………………..3
II. Recommendation 2: Saturate a District……………………………………………....4
3. How Salesforce Facilitates Outreach
I. Overview……………………………………………………………………...………....5
I. Tracking…………………………………………………………………………...……..6
II. Outreach…………………………………………….…………………………………...8
4. Key Findings from Research
I. District Board of Education……………………………………………………………10
II. Conferences……………………………………………………………………….…...11
III. Non­Profit Organizations……………………………………………………………...13
IV. Relevant Official Organizations………………………………………………………19
V. Elyssa’s Mission…………………………………………………………………....….22
5. Conclusion​………………………………………………………………………………………...23
1

3.
Introduction
Ten weeks ago, a team of Northwestern Student Community Consultants, Marcel, Richard,
Sanchita, Yu Jung, and Yuri, was approached with a problem. Peggy Kubert, former Executive
Director and current Director of Education and Programming of Erika’s Lighthouse, was seeking
out ways to expand the organization’s programming. A thriving organization since 2004, Erika’s
Lighthouse has worked tirelessly to provide mental health and depression adolescent education
across communities in Illinois. Through the years, Erika’s Lighthouse has provided education in
the form of captivating video series and presentations, empowering opportunities for youth
wishing to advocate for mental health through teen panels, parent and teacher facilitation
guides, community events to raise awareness among so much more. With such an inspiring and
experienced organization standing in front of them, the team could not have been more excited
to take on the challenge of expanding Erika’s Lighthouse’s programming.
Through the weeks, we have contributed hours of research, outreach, and analysis in order to
figure out how best to help Erika’s Lighthouse. We initially began this process by doing our own
research on Erika’s Lighthouse and also asking Peggy many questions regarding Erika’s
Lighthouse’s history, past and current initiatives, and outreach strategies. After developing a
comprehensive understanding of Erika’s Lighthouse, we then visited the organization to get to
know the other key players that make Erika’s Lighthouse possible. We then entered the
research phase where we we looked into the feasibility of expanding Erika’s Lighthouse into
more schools by working alongside high­level structures (government departments, district
board meetings, etc.). We also reached out to a number of organizations similar to Erika’s
Lighthouse to see how they were able to expand their programs. From there, we consolidated
our data, looked at our understanding of Erika’s Lighthouse, and made a diagnosis of how best
to move forward. So now, we will go into our strategies, research, and recommendation in more
detail.
2

4.
Outreach Strategies
Recommendations
Recommendation 1: Strategically Target Schools
Strategically targeting schools minimizes the amount of time and effort needed in outreach.
Below are the possible criteria for classifying a new school as a possible target school. 1
Is this school in a
district where at
least one school is
using the program?/
Is this school a
feeder school?
Has this school had
teen panel or other
awareness events?
Does this school
have a teen club?
Are there existing
contacts in the
school?
Category 1 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Category 2 ✓ ✓ ✓
Category 3 ✓ ✓
Category 4 ✓
Category 1​: Utilize existing contacts to get in touch with a school official, mention the
awareness events and the other schools in the district already using the program.
Category 2​: Encourage teen club members to speak to their advisor/teacher about Erika’s
Lighthouse, email/call school officials.
Categories 3 & 4: ​Ask for referrals from other schools in the district already using the program.
1
The first three criteria will likely be met in the order given in the table. However, it may often be the case
that Erika’s Lighthouse comes across contacts for new schools even when the first three criteria have not
been met.
3

5.
Recommendation 2: Saturate a District
When searching for schools to target, it is also helpful to reach out to schools in districts where
Erika’s Lighthouse has a strong presence. This is advantageous for a number of reasons.
1. Enables Multiple Referrals
If Erika’s Lighthouse program is already being used in many schools, multiple referrals to
a single school may be possible.
2. Increases Influence
If Erika’s Lighthouse is in majority of the schools in a district, it is easier to meet with the
superintendent or the director of curriculum to approve the program for all schools in the
district. This is what happened with Township High School District 214 when Elyssa’s
Mission was able to meet with the Assistant Superintendent.
3. Improves Sustainability
a. All or most schools in a district using the same program facilitates peer
interaction, making it less likely that schools stop using a program or switch to a
different program.
b. Logistically, it is easier to track multiple schools in one district than multiple
schools in multiple districts. Communicating with one or two persons from the
district (e.g. superintendent or director of curriculum) may provide enough
information about the program’s use in the district. This means fewer emails and
phone calls.
4. Provides a Reproducible Model
Once Erika’s Lighthouse has saturated a district and has kept track of the details of the
process, it can use the same strategy to move on to another district. Once this has been
repeated several times, the accumulated results will make the inter­district variations
more predictable. Some questions that might be answered include the following:
a. Who is the best person to talk to when initially contacting the school?
b. After a significant portion of the schools in a district has implemented the
program, who is the next district official to talk to?
c. On average, after how many exchanges of phone calls or emails will there be an
in­person meeting?
d. How effective are teen panels and teen clubs in facilitating the implementation of
the program?
4

6.
How Salesforce Facilitates
Outreach
Overview
campusCATALYST team created an organization structure tailored to Erika’s Lighthouse’s
needs by utilizing Salesforce. As Salesforce can be used in countless different ways with its
many functions, campusCATALYST particularly focused on devising the best format that
efficiently divided data by categories without unnecessary complications. Below are the key
organizational features to Erika’s Lighthouse’s Salesforce account.
● Each school was entered in as a single account­­ no omits or overlaps.
● Information about contacts were entered ​under​ the account (school) category.
● Adding multiple contacts under a single account (school) without confusion was
also made possible.
The next two sections will explore how this organizational method facilitates the two most
important tasks of Erika’s Lighthouse: tracking existing schools and reaching out to new
schools.
5

7.
Tracking
Ideally, Erika’s Lighthouse should try to establish one or two primary contacts in the school with
whom it can consistently and frequently stay in touch. Maintaining such ties with the
participating schools can lead to a number of benefits.
● It is easy to confirm the program’s continued use in the school.
● It speeds up the referral process.
● It enables feedback‒having a group of responsive program users who can ask
questions or make recommendations can help future outreach as well
Tracking is particularly crucial given that schools are usually not loyal to any one program. This
may be part of the reason why Elyssa’s Mission was able to introduce their programs to schools
already impacted by Erika’s Lighthouse. campusCATALYST team made tracking easier by
using Salesforce to do the following:
1. Organizing information such as name, title, phone number, email, and contact
source of one or more contacts in a school
­ The contact source category is a drop­down menu to facilitate organizing
­ Keeping information about the contacts’ roles in school (under the title category) allows
Peggy to see the trend in which school officials are most helpful and responsive in
implementation of the program
6

8.
2. Allowing mass­emailing
3. Recording Activity History
7

9.
Outreach
Schools are introduced to Erika’s Lighthouse in numerous ways, and they are also in numerous
different stages of implementing the program. Erika’s Lighthouse’s Salesforce can do the
following to facilitates the organization of outreach­related information:
1. Assigning different account stages to each account (school)
Prospect All schools Erika’s Lighthouse does not have any presence in
Target Schools with existing contacts, programming, presence in district
Approach Schools with which you have made initial contact (email, phone, meeting)
In Progress Indefinite period, back and forth contact, getting programming into the school
Closed / Success Program is implemented in school
Closed / Recycle Did not succeed, follow up next year
Non­School Account is not a school
The table shown in page 3 provides possible criteria for differentiating prospect schools, which
are all schools that Erika’s Lighthouse does not have any presence in, from target schools,
which are schools that Erika’s Lighthouse have decided to actively pursue.
The following stages are shown in the drop­down menu in the Account Stage section so that
future sorting and organization is easier.
8

10.
2. Documenting existing programs
As schools often use more than one program, (e.g. they might have a teen panel as well as
TDSHH program), multiple programs can be chosen for a school
Below is a sample of the overall account view. It includes all the information considered
essential in tracking and outreach and allows them to be viewed and edited in a single page.
Further details regarding the Salesforce portion of the deliverable can be found in the
Salesforce training guide.
9

11.
Key Findings From Research
District Boards of Education
Overview
Reaching out to District Boards of Education is an effective strategy to reach multiple schools at
once. Getting approval by the Superintendent or Director of Curriculum will distribute Erika’s
Lighthouse’s programs to all or most of the district’s schools.
Challenges
campusCATALYST initially looked at district boards as the best strategy. However, there are
multiple challenges associated with this method.
1. A board meeting’s main purpose is to discuss internal affairs of the district. Districts will
very rarely invite external speakers to introduce a program, if at all.
2. Board meetings are usually the final stage in getting a curriculum or a program
approved. General consensus from the principals, teachers, and staffs of the individual
schools is necessary for both being able to present at a board meeting and being able to
implement the program after the approval.
Possible Solutions
1. According to Dr.Dill Varga, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum at Maine Township
High School District 207, superintendents, principals, or teachers will often talk about a
program they have heard of at a conference in board meetings. Establishing connections
with school officials may be the best way to introduce Erika’s Lighthouse at these
meetings.
2. Meetings with superintendents are possible via referrals and connections. Elyssa’s
Mission’s Signs of Suicide was approved by the Assistant Superintendent at Township
High School District 214 to be used in all of its schools.
10

12.
Conferences
Health teachers, school administrators and mental health conferences are obvious opportunities
to spread the name of Erika’s Lighthouse across professionals in their respective industries and
lines of work.
Pros
1. Reaches a wide audience of people who have the potential to become contacts and
advocates for programs
2. Relatively simple to present and network at
3. Typically happen annually at the same time each year, which makes these reliable
opportunities
Cons
1. Takes time to write applications
2. There exists competition for relationships as similar non­profit organizations will also
likely be trying to establish contacts with the relevant people
Location Name District
Target
Audience Start Date Website
Miami, FL
Anxiety and
Depression
Association of
America National
Health
Professionals,
Advocates 4/1/2015
http://www.adaa.
org/resources­pr
ofessionals/conf
erence­educatio
n/conference/wh
y­attend
Baltimore, MD
27th Annual
Suicide
Prevention
Conference Maryland
Maryland
Healthcare
Professionals 10/7/2015
http://trainingcen
ter.umaryland.e
du/Pages/Suicid
e­Prevention.as
px
San Diego, CA
National
Conference on
Education National
School
Administrators 2/26/2015
http://nce.aasa.o
rg/
Norwood, MA
New England
Secondary
School
Consortium New England
Educators
(Secondary) 3/26/2015
http://newenglan
dssc.org/confere
nce
San Diego, CA
National
Association of
Secondary
School
Principals
IGNITE National
Principals
(Primary,
Secondary) 2/19/2015
http://www.nass
pconference.org
/
11

13.
Conference
Seattle, WA
Shape America
National
Conference
(*Has a
Conference for
every
Geographic
Area in America) National
Health/Gym
Educators 3/17/2015
http://www.shap
eamerica.org/ev
ents/convention
2015/
Moorhead, MN
SHAPE
American
Central
Conference Central
Health/Gym
Educators 2/5/2015
http://www.shap
eamerica.org/ab
out/districts/cent
ral/conference.cf
m
Springfield, IL
Illinois
Association of
School
Administrators Illinois
School
Administrators 9/30/2015
http://www.iasae
du.org/domain/2
2
Normal, IL
Illinois
Association of
School Social
Workers Illinois Social Workers 10/1/2015
http://iassw.org/
professional­dev
elopment/confer
ence/
Bloomington, IL
Preventing
Suicide Among
Youth and
Young Adults:
Everyone has a
Role Illinois
Clinicians,
Educators, First
Responders,
Health
Educators,
Nurses,
Physicians, and
Social Workers 4/29/2015
https://ipha.com/
event/details/5/s
tatewide­suicide
­prevention­conf
erence
12

14.
Non Profit Organizations
Throughout our project, we talked with a number of similar non­profit organizations that work
with local schools in order to engage, empower, and educate youth. Below you can find the
major insights from each organization;
One Goal:​ One Goal is a group that operates within Chicago Public Schools (CPS) in order to
make college graduation possible for every student. Through speaking with them, we
discovered;
● Word of Mouth: ​In reaching out, one of the most effective strategies was getting
teachers within the school to advocate for the program. Overall, teachers, assistant
principals, and principals are the most effective at getting this done.
● Emphasize Minimal Costs: ​Often times schools lack the capacity or budget to
incorporate new projects regardless of how interested they are, so really do emphasize
the financial accessibility of your project.
● District Plays a Role Later: ​The districts were able to spread One Goal into more
schools (some even across state lines), but this took place after the program became
more established and had more clout.
● Find the “Action People”: ​One Goal was able to get a meeting with the CEO of CPS,
however this only happened once the group was tossed around a bit from contact to
contact. Eventually, they came across the person in charge of the OAS School
Committee who then got them in touch with the CEO. They also were able to get in
touch with post secondary career services and a number of counselors.
● Do High Level Trainings: ​Facilitating trainings with school chiefs (something organized
by the CEO) was definitely a good way of getting One Goal’s mission into the right set of
ears.
● Ask the Right Questions: ​In meeting with potential new schools, asking that they
articulate what their needs are and what they think is possible through a partnership is
more effective since their response usually aligns with the service you are trying to
provide.
● Partnerships: ​When meeting new partners, definitely be clear on what the relationships
should look like. Communication is key.
Jumpstart:​ Jumpstart is an organization that places colleges students into low­income
preschools in order to provide them with supplemental literacy tutoring.
● Neighborhood­based Approach: ​Jumpstart operates more so by targeting schools
within a specific area since they have a list of school requirements that not every school
is able to meet.
● Testimonials/Referrals: ​Having schools with successful Jumpstart programs is useful
since they will normally reach out to other schools and refer them to the Jumpstart
program.
13

15.
● Name Recognition: ​Since Jumpstart is a national program, people are more likely to
recognize its name and seek out their services.
● Preference for Bottom­Up: ​Jumpstart usually does not use the district level in order to
expand to more schools since doing so would require more research. Plus their program
requirements make it so that doing so would also be more difficult.
Supplies for Dreams:​ Supplies for Dreams is an organization that provides supplemental
education and enrichment opportunities for children enrolled in Chicago Public Schools (CPS).
● CPS Partnership: ​Having a partnership with CPS really helps in getting out to schools.
They have an internal champion/advocate who does a lot of the outreach work for them.
● Limited Spots:​ They operate on an application model, so often times that will take one
out of every ten or so schools that apply.
● Emphasize Minimal Costs: ​Supplies for Dreams provides all the materials that they use
in their programming, so the school need not do much in order for their programs to be
effective.
Y.O.U:​ Y.O.U provides a holistic set of services (from afterschool programs to clinical
counseling) to ensure that out of school time for students is safe, healthy, and engaging.
● Clear Communication: ​Before launching into a partnership with a school, it is important
to make sure that everyone is on the same page and knows the expectations that come
from a partnership.
● Districts are Tricky: ​The politics and key players behind district mobilization can be
complicated. Depending on the size of the district and other factors, a lot of things just
look very differently.
● Pilot First: ​If you seek to reach out to the district or present to a number of schools, it is
good to first have a pilot of your program done so that people see clear results. Usually a
pilot program should take between one and two years. Try to have some data.
● Ensure Capacity: ​Often times, schools may be excited for a program, but do not
actually have the capacity to support it so make sure that interest does not way out
feasibility.
● Government Usually Is Not Relevant: ​When there are heavy issues surrounding
programs, then reaching out to different government departments could help. Usually (at
least in Skokie) what the public health or education department want falls flat if the
schools themselves do not see the value in it.
● Parents Matter: ​Getting parents to support and advocate for your programs really goes
a long way. Leveraging relationships with parents from the outside is a bit tricky though,
so already having a partnership with a school first usually helps.
● Use your Literature: ​The​ ​National Center for Community Schools and National
Coalition for Community Schools provide a lot of good written materials in accessing
school readiness. Do not be afraid to seek that out!
14

16.
Family Matters Chicago: ​Family Matters empowers families and children to be positive forces of
social change through holistic services such as tutoring, after­school enrichment workshops,
volunteer opportunities,etc.
● Attack from Multiple Angles: ​It is definitely important to reach out to individual schools
for outreach, but it also helps (at least within CPS) to try to reach out to CPS’ regional
office for institutional support.
● Principals Not Always the “Go­To Person”: ​Usually principals have to sign off on new
initiatives, however getting even a single teacher could be just as useful a source of
advocacy.
Below here are some more relevant non­profit organizations that we found including the emails
of contacts that can be reached out to for partnerships or further advice if necessary! In this
work, partnerships and communication are keys to success so definitely give these
organizations a look.
Organization Website Description / Issue
Area
Contacts
Illinois Caucus for
Adolescent Health
http://www.icah.org/ Sexual education
programming
Roxane Medina Padilla ​(Peer
Health Ambassador Program
Specialist) ​roxane@icah.org​.
Tiffany Pryor​ (Chicago Land
Organizing Manager)
tiffany@icah.org
826 CHI http://826chi.org/ After­school tutoring,
creative writing
workshops, field trips,
in­school support,
English language help
Amanda Lichtenstein ​(Director
of Education)
amanda@826chi.org
Peer Health
Exchange
http://www.peerhealt
hexchange.org/
Give teens the
knowledge and skills
they need to make
healthy decisions
Brittany Merritt ​(Chicago
Program Director)
brittany@peerhealthexchange.or
g
BuildOn http://www.buildon.or
g/
Gives teens the chance
to work on service
learning opportunities in
their own communities
Jill Katz​ (Director of
Development: Chicago)
jill.katz@buildon.org​.
Chicago
Grassroots
Curriculum
Taskforce
http://grassrootscurri
culum.org/
Edits and creates
curriculum tools that
focus on justice and
civic engagement. They
could be really helpful
to reach out to since
Cecily Relucio ​Hensler
(Co­Director)
cecily@grassrootscurriculum.org
15

17.
they focus on
curriculum development
Chicago Youth
Programs
http://chicagoyouthpr
ograms.org/
Improves the health of
teens by expanding life
opportunities and
building capacities
N/A
Communities in
Schools of
Chicago
http://www.chicagoci
s.org/whoweare/Intro
duction.asp
Provide health
education and other
services to
underprivileged youth
Emily Jones​ (Senior School
Partnership Specialist)
ejones@chicagocis.o​rg
Jacqueline Guerrero ​(School
Partnership Specialist and
Associate Trainer)
jguerrero@chicagocis.org
Taymah Jones ​(School
Partnership Specialist)
tjones@chicagocis.org
Jason Triche (School
Partnership Specialist)
jtriche@chicagocis.org
Annie Rezac​ ​(Senior
Community Partnership
Specialist)
arezac@chicagocis.org
Karen Roddie ​(Behavioral and
Mental Health Specialist and
Intern Program Manager)
kroddie@chicagocis.org
Family Matters http://www.familymat
terschicago.org/
Provide youth health
and enrichment
after­school programs
Gretchen Nord​ (Director of
Development)
gretchen@familymatterschicago.
org
Girls in the Game http://www.girlsinthe
game.org/
Provides girls with
athletic opportunities
and also nutrition and
health education. They
also do after school
work and other
enrichment activities
Margaret Miles​ (Teen Programs
Manager)
mmiles@girlsinthegame.org
OneGoal http://www.onegoalg
raduation.org/about­
us/
Provides educational
opportunities to
underperforming high
school students in order
Thomas Dickson ​(Senior
Director of School Partnerships)
thomas.dickson@onegoalgradua
tion.org
16

18.
to ensure that everyone
can go to college
Teach for America
Chicago
https://www.teachfor
america.org/where­w
e­work/chicago
A national program that
sends recent college
graduates into
under­resourced urban
and rural schools
N/A
Youth Guidance http://www.youth­gui
dance.org/
A youth enrichment
program that focuses
on creating and
implementing school
based programs that
enable at­risk youth to
overcome obstacles
Malika ​Graham­Bailey
(Director of Community and
After­School Programs)
mgraham­bailey@youth­guidanc
e.org
Youth
Organizations
Umbrella (Y.O.U)
http://www.youevans
ton.org/
Youth development,
tutoring, enrichment
programming
Melissa Carpenter ​(Community
Schools Director)
melissa.carpenter@youevanston
.org
Erin Moore ​(Community
Schools Director of Skokie)
erin.moore@youevanston.org
Amy LaDuke ​(Community
Schools Director of Chute Middle
School)
amy.laduke@youevanston.org
DPQ Project http://www.dbqprojec
t.com/
Curriculum reform
organization, focus on
critical thinking, history,
writing and equity
Chip Brady ​(Co­Founder)
chip@dbqproject.com
Jumpstart Chicago http://www.jstart.org/
where/midwest
Jumpstart is an
organization that places
colleges students into
low­income preschools
in order to provide them
with supplemental
literacy tutoring
Rachel McHugh​ (Associate
Program Director)
rachel.mchugh@jstart.org
Planned
Parenthood of
Illinois
http://www.plannedp
arenthood.org/plann
ed­parenthood­illinoi
s
A national provider of
reproductive healthcare
N/A
17

19.
Here is a list of a few more organizations that do similar work, but that are based out of
Northwestern.
Organization Website Description / Issue
Area
Contacts
Project SOAR (YMCA) http://www.mcgawymca.
org/youth­teens/after­sc
hool­care­activities/ment
oring/project­soar­news/
Youth mentorship
program run through the
YMCA
N/A
Jumpstart See above See above Micaela Moran
(Jumpstart
Northwestern
Coordinator)
micaela.moran@northw
estern.edu
Northwestern University
Center for Civic
Engagement
http://www.engage.north
western.edu/
University office
responsible for
connecting students to
civic engagement
opportunities both in
Evanston and Chicago
Robert Donahue
(Associate Director)
rjd230@northwestern.e
du
Heidi Gross ​(Program
Manager)
heidi­gross@northweste
rn.edu
Supplies for Dreams http://www.suppliesfordr
eams.org/
Supplies for Dreams is
an organization that
provides supplemental
education and
enrichment
opportunities for
children enrolled in
Chicago Public Schools
(CPS)
N/A
18

20.
Relevant Research, Advocacy, & Government
Organizations
Below is a list of research, think­tank, and governmental organizations that have missions or
initiatives that align with those of Erika’s Lighthouse. Many of these organizations either operate
nationally or outside of Illinois, however it still bears importance to look into the work of these
organizations. Often times, tapping into organizations of this stature could create partnerships
or, at the very least, seeing whom they work with could provide some helpful future
partnerships. Additionally, many of these organizations have publications or templates of mental
health education curriculums and interventions on their websites, so even getting Erika’s
Lighthouse’s materials on their websites could prove beneficial.
In the end, organizations of this stature might be difficult to tap into, however once a partnership
is established or a conversation had, the possibilities for expansion and exposure monumentally
increase.
Organization Website Issue Areas Depression
Specific
Headquarters
National Institute of
Mental Health
http://www.nimh.ni
h.gov/
Research, Understand,
Treatment No Bethesda, MD
National Alliance for
the Mentally Ill
http://www.nami.or
g/ Care Services, Treatment No Arlington, VA
Depression and
Bipolar Support
Alliance
http://www.dbsalli
ance.org/ Support, Education Yes Chicago, IL
University of Michigan
Comprehensive
Depression Center
*personal contact*
http://www.depres
sioncenter.org/ Research, Treatment Yes Ann Arbor, MI
American Academy of
Child & Adolescent
Psychiatry
http://www.aacap.
org/
Advocacy, Education,
Research No Washington D.C.
Substance Abuse and
Mental Health
Services
Administration
http://www.samhs
a.gov/
Leads public health
efforts, part of US
Department of Health &
Human Services No Rockville, MD
American Foundation
for Suicide Prevention
(AFSP)
https://www.afsp.o
rg/
Research, Education,
Advocacy Yes New York, NY
Suicide Resource http://www.sprc.or Promotes public health Yes Waltham, MA
19

21.
Center g/
Illinois Chapter​:
http://www.sprc.or
g/states/illinois
approach to suicide
prevention
Miami University
Center for
School­Based Mental
Health Programs
http://www.units.m
iamioh.edu/csbmh
p/index.html
Research, education,
Clinical Services, Clinician
Training No Oxford, OH
Adler University
Institute on Social
Exclusion
http://www.adler.e
du/page/institutes/
institute­on­social­
exclusion/about
Research, Outreach,
Awareness No Chicago, IL
The Center for Health
and Health Care in
Schools
http://www.healthi
nschools.org/
Policy, Advocacy,
Research, Education No Washington D.C.
National Association
of Social Workers
Illinois
http://www.naswil.
org/ Education, Advocacy No Chicago, IL
National Action
Alliance for Suicide
Prevention
http://actionallian
ceforsuicideprev
ention.org/
Advances the National
Strategy for Suicide
Prevention
Yes Washington D.C.
Say It Out Loud
Illinois
http://www.ment
alhealthillinois.or
g/
Education, Advocacy Yes IL
Mental Health
America of Illinois
http://www.mhai.
org/
Mental Health
Promotion, Treatment
Yes IL
National Center for
Community Schools
http://nationalcen
terforcommunitys
chools.childrens
aidsociety.org/
Consultation, Capacity
Building, and School &
Organization Partnership
Facilitation
No New York, NY
The Coalition for
Community Schools
http://www.comm
unityschools.org/
School ­ Organization
Partnership Facilitation,
Education, Advocacy
No Washington D.C.
Chicago Department
of Public Health
(For general
outreach efforts,
contact Jay Bhatt
the Chief Strategy
and Innovation
Officer
http://www.cityof
chicago.org/city/
en/depts/cdph.ht
ml
Prevention, Treatment,
Education
No Chicago, IL
20

22.
Jay.Bhatt@cityofchi
cago.org​)
(For outreach
efforts revolving the
“Healthy Chicago
2.0 Initiative”
contact Sheri
Cohen
sheri.cohen@cityof
chicago.org​)
The Illinois
Children’s Mental
Health Partnership
http://icmhp.org/i
ndex.html
Prevention, Education Yes Chicago, IL
LifeSavers Training
Corporation
http://www.thelife
savers.net/LSTC
/
Training, Education,
Youth Advocacy
Yes Carbondale, IL
Suicide Prevention
Services
http://www.spsa
merica.org/
Education, Advocacy
and Collaboration
Yes Batavia, IL
It Only Takes One http://www.itonlyt
akesone.org/
Education, Resources Yes Chicago, IL
In case you also would like to get in touch with offices run through the Illinois
Department of Public Health, here is some contact information;
Name of Office Number
Office of Health Promotion 217­785­4093
Office of Health Care Regulation Education
and Training
217­785­5132
Office of Men’s Health 312­814­1080
Center for Minority Health Services 217­782­4977
Office of Women’s Health (Chicago) 312­814­5278
Office of Women’s Health (Springfield) 217­524­6088
21

23.
Competitor ­ Elyssa’s Mission
Elyssa’s Mission is a competing program of Erika’s Lighthouse, offering middle and high schools
variants of their education materials. They are in approximately double the schools Erika’s
Lighthouse is currently in as of early 2015, and some of these schools are shared between both
programs. Collecting some data on their outreach and program, we have a good sense of how
they have been getting their program into schools. Breaking down their outreach strategy:
1. Cold Call
1. Approach school social workers working in suburbs
2. Have the school social workers refer them into a school and begin a dialogue
3. This hopefully leads to meetings and discussions where the program becomes
implemented
2. By Referral
1. Schools that the program is already in or advocates refer the program to other
schools
3. Extension into Feeder Schools
4. District Expansion
1. It seems like to get district endorsement (which seems the most time efficient),
a meeting with superintendent or the like is a necessary step
5. Name Recognition
1. Schools have been contacting them cold because of name recognition.
6. Illinois Association of School Social Workers (IASSW) Conference and Webinars
It is a worthwhile consideration that while Elyssa’s Mission may be seen as a competitor, they
have the same mission as Erika’s Lighthouse, and being simultaneously in the same school or
school district as part of education in different grade school years might provide students with a
broader scope of depression from two sides.
22

24.
Conclusion
Summary of Recommendation
Based on our research of Erika’s Lighthouse’s operations, various outreach methods and the
information we have collected from a myriad of official organizations, we identify several
possible opportunities for improvement in our target of increased program expansion:
1. In the organization of the program expansion process, especially at the
outreaching stage
2. In the tracking of EL presence in both prospective and current schools
From our findings, we recommend a ​two­part resolution​.
The first part is an organized, bottom­to­top outreach approach that would most efficiently
spread EL’s program to schools, thereby advancing EL’s mission. It begins by contacting a
particular person and developing them into an advocate so that EL’s programs climb the school
hierarchy into a decision­making administrator. By reaching out via conferences, personal
school contacts, and referrals, the success rate is much higher in comparison to the
top­to­bottom approach (reaching out first to district boards, cold­calling administrators,
speaking with government or other official organizations), where there is qualitative evidence
that the opportunity for EL to enter is low based on findings. The success rate of bottom­to­top
is further amplified by district­level growth, where a partnership with one school in a particular
district opens the doors considerably to another school in that district. We believe this method
will be a more organized and time­efficient way of approaching the issue of contacting schools
and convincing them that Erika’s Lighthouse’s depression education program is a superior
choice.
The second part of the recommendation is a tracking system built on SalesForce that will
provide Erika’s Lighthouse with a systematic way of tracking schools and their respective
contacts, from the prospective stage to the program accepted stage. The biggest upside of
SalesForce is its ability to sort through entries by categories, which can assist with Erika’s
Lighthouse by providing options to systematically sort through prospective target schools and
consistently follow­up. Through research, we determined parameters of particular importance
were at the contact level:
1. Contact Source
23

25.
a. Personal Contact / Referral
b. Conference
c. Workshop
d. Partnership
e. Other
2. Contact Information
a. School
b. Email
c. Number
d. Location
e. District
We have added all suggested parameters on Erika’s Lighthouse’s current SalesForce account,
but this can be modified based on user preference moving into the future. We believe this is a
way for Erika’s Lighthouse to move out of the Google Documents space for workflow
management (not only just school tracking, but finances and other opportunities as well) and
into a more professional program at the same no­cost price point. As Erika’s Lighthouse grows
to become a larger organization with more schools in its program portfolio, having SalesForce
as a workflow management system will make school processing and data entry less taxing on
time with simultaneously higher functionality.
24