HiTOPS | Town Topics

February 13, 2013

Small World Coffee Brightens February With Month-Long Celebration of Love

LOVE AT SMALL WORLD: Local photographer Christine Ferrara captured the warm glow of Small World Coffee on Witherspoon Street last Friday at the start of the opening reception for “The Love Show.” Ms. Ferrara was among more than 40 local artists featured in the show/art sale which runs through March 5 and benefits HiTOPS. (Photo by Christine Ferrara)

With unexpected snow storms and freezing downpours interspersed with teasing signs of spring, February can be one bleak month.

For the past four years Small World Coffee on Witherspoon Street has brightened the February gloom with a month-long community art show. Aptly titled “The Love Show,” the event raises funds for a local community non-profit. This year, the proceeds go to HiTOPS, the teen and young adult health center on Wiggins Street.

Some 100 people turned out last Friday night for the show’s opening reception. The coffee shop was transformed into a gallery and party space devoted to art in visual, musical, and culinary forms: with DJs spinning and baristas passing around treats donated by Olives and The Bent Spoon.

Many of the artists brought friends and family along to mingle with the store’s loyal customers, members of the community, and small world employees.

Four years ago, when Ms. Durrie and her team formulated the plan to curate a community art show, the month of February was chosen as a time when such festivity would be most welcome and the love theme was a natural. “We decided to make it a fundraising event as well as an art event accessible to all,” said Ms. Durrie. “We liked the concept of an opening party that would be so full of energy celebrating art and artists, with hors d’oeuvres and live music, so much fun that it would warrant asking for a suggested donation of $20,” she said.

Participating artists are asked to create pieces in response to the word ‘love,’ in broad or specific terms. “We are always inspired by the range of talent and creativity and thank all of the artists,” said Ms. Durrie. “We are so thankful for all of the wonderful entries, but alas, we only have so much space on our walls.”

In addition to the sale of the artwork, the coffee shop also sells love show t-shirts ($24.95) and stickers ($1), from which all of the proceeds benefit the selected not-for-profit. “While each of these fundraising efforts may be small in cash value, I am a big believer in the power of many small good gestures,” said Ms. Durrie. “That is one of the sub-themes of the show.”

Past beneficiaries have been the Arts Council of Princeton (2010), the D&R Greenway Land Trust (2011), and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey (2012). In order to “spread the love around,” says Ms. Durrie, Small World Coffee decided to select a different not-for-profit each year so that different organizations would have an opportunity to get their message out to a potentially new audience. “What I did not realize when we decided to do this was how great it would be to get to know all of the different not-for-profits. I’ve truly enjoyed learning more about each of them and expanding my knowledge of our community.”

To date the coffee shop has raised some $1200 all told. This year, more is hoped for. “The bad weather on opening night may or may not allow us to exceed our goals, but it is not too late for people to come in and buy our stylish love show t-shirts or purchase a piece of original art work.”

Friday’s weather presented some challenges. While snow arrived, the scheduled performers, Motorfunker DJs from WPRB did not, necessitating a last minute change of plans. “But the strength of our Small World community came through,” said Ms. Durrie, who called local musicians Chris Harford and Matt Trowbridge to save the day by bringing in their sound system and turntables and DJing the dance party at the end of he evening.

More than 40 local artists: painters and photographers participated. Many donated the proceeds from the sale of their work, or a part thereof, to HiTOPS, which promotes adolescent health and well-being and is the only free-standing health center focusing exclusively on youth in New Jersey. Founded by nurse practitioners and health educators, it has been providing risk reduction education and health promotion to youth for the past 25 years.

“The event wrapped up at 11 p.m.,” said Ms. Durrie. “It was a good night.”

The Love Show continues through March 5 at Small World Coffee, 14 Witherspoon Street, Monday through Thursday 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sunday 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

For more information on HiTOPS, call (609) 683 5155 or visit: www.hitops.org.

October 24, 2012

HiTOPS Teen Council Alumnae Help Coordinate Half Marathon

Plans for the HiTOPS half marathon on November 4, Princeton’s first half marathon in over 20 years, is, in part, a result of a collaboration between HiTOPS Teen Council alumnae Jennifer Chung, and Gloria Orellana.

Ms. Chung and Ms Orellana have been working side-by-side with HiTOPS staff for nearly two years to bring the Princeton Half Marathon to fruition.

HiTOPS developed the Princeton half Marathon as a platform for raising awareness about the importance of adolescent health to community health. Although adolescence is generally a healthy time of life, behavioral problems — such as smoking, substance abuse, risky sexual behaviors, eating disorders, and suicide ideation — can either begin or peak during adolescence, and can determine health status and risk for chronic diseases in adulthood. HiTOPS teaches young people the importance of making healthy decisions by weighing actions and consequences. The 2012 half marathon is highlighting the importance of early mental health screening.

The Princeton Half Marathon reached its cap at 1,000 runners three months after its announcement, and will bring runners from 18 states and three different countries. Residents along the course have offered their lawns for stationing water tables. Volunteers from all over the community are invited to assist in passing out water to runners.

“This is what it’s all about,” said Ms. Chung, “I wanted the race to be about the Princeton community and making positive changes in people’s lives. Who else but HiTOPS embodies that exact sentiment?”

Part of the attraction to the Princeton Half Marathon is the opportunity for participants to explore the town’s lesser known pockets of nature and history. “Princetonians are committed to health, fitness, and achieving goals,” Ms. Chung said. “Princeton was the perfect place to spark this health effort.”

As a Teen Council member during the 1996-1997 school year, Ms. Orellana remembers feeling that she was a part of a group that made a difference. “The Princeton Half Marathon excites me because it is an event that celebrates health and well-being in many ways,” she commented. “It celebrates its runners who run the distance, the tremendous community involvement, and the mission of bringing health education and crucial health services to the youth in the community I grew up in.”

Ms. Chung, who was in the HiTOPS Middle School Teen Council in 1999-2000, said that she “absorbed all the lessons and values she taught to fellow peers — including building confidence in one’s body and actions, and thinking for oneself.”

HiTOPS’s Teen Council is a select group of peer educators who receive 224 hours of leadership training and sexual health education, and present up to 30 peer education workshops a year. Last year, 1,200 youngsters benefitted from programs in schools, juvenile justice facilities, and community organizations.

HiTOPS is a non-profit organization located in Mercer County. For nearly 25 years, HiTOPS has provided adolescents with knowledge, risk reduction strategies, and resources to help them reduce risk behaviors and make health enhancing decisions. For more information about HiTOPS, visit www.hitops.org.

May 23, 2012

HiTOPS Treats Teens As Whole People Not Just “the Sum of Their Private Parts”

To The Editor:

As a Princeton resident, a parent, and a novelist for teens, I was disappointed by the lengthy May 16 Letter to the Editor mischaracterizing the services HiTOPS provides our community.

HiTOPS empowers young adults with the knowledge to make informed health decisions. If HiTOPS presented sexual activity as “unproblematic” (as the letter writers allege), such education, support and prevention programs wouldn’t be necessary. I’ve personally engaged with tens of thousands of young adults throughout my career. I know firsthand how dangerous misinformation—or no information at all—can be to their physical and emotional well-being.

It’s important to note that the money raised by the Princeton Half-Marathon is specifically targeted for providing adolescents access to mental health screenings. This speaks to the HiTOPS mission to treat young adults like whole people and not just the sum of their private parts.

I did agree with the final point in the letter, which read in part: “We should remind ourselves and teach our teens that sometimes it is necessary to consider other voices and to rethink our own assumptions if we wish to get closer to the truth.”

If only more individuals offering this kind of advice were better at following it themselves.

Megan McCafferty

Fisher Avenue

Former HiTOPS Client Remembers Receiving Critical Free Service There

To the Editor:

I am a 35-year-old professional who is happily married with two children, and a resident of Princeton Township. After having conferred with my husband about my feelings regarding the letter you published on May 16 (“Not All Parents Think the HiTOPS Approach to Sex Education Valuable”), I’d like to disclose that 20 long years ago I was a client.

As maybe was more common then than now, I “experimented” as a young teen and found myself in need of medical assistance that I could never, ever tell my parents about. I still remember distinctly a friend of mine driving me over to Rt. 206 in a snowstorm so I could obtain an STD test I badly needed (for the public record, thankfully, it was negative). I remember leaving HiTOPS, thinking as only a fifteen-year old who had just received a critical free service could, “God, why are they, like, so judgmental?” With 20 years to reflect, I realize the lady who did my test that day gave me much-needed counseling on responsibility and self-respect.

I was a boarder at the Methodist Pennington School with conservative parents, and still I found myself in need of HiTOPS services. I have children, and I too hope they will delay becoming sexually active. However, the human record shows that doesn’t tend to happen on parental timetables, and sometimes kids need help that they need to keep private, even from their own parents. I would hope that when my children are older they would feel comfortable coming to me if they needed help despite any disappointment I might show, but if they didn’t, I would be satisfied that an option exists where “diversity” beyond what my own personal hopes for my children might be lets them stay healthy, private, and whole.

Liz Winslow

Dodds Lane

Director Explains HiTOPS Approach To Reducing Risk, Promoting Health

To the Editor:

I deeply respect and appreciate the sentiments expressed by four parents regarding sexuality education provided by HiTOPS (Town Topics, May 16). Being a parent myself and having been involved with the organization for almost 20 years, I can tell you that HiTOPS wholeheartedly agrees with the authors that parents have the right and the responsibility to provide information about sexuality to their children within the context of family values, religious beliefs and cultural norms.

HiTOPS’ mission to promote adolescent health and well-being is accomplished in part by providing age-appropriate education to middle school and high school youth within a public health context. Our lesson plans are in alignment with the New Jersey Department of Education Core Curriculum Content Standards in Health Education for all New Jersey public schools. Health education on any subject is designed to give students the information and skills they need to make decisions that eliminate or reduce their risk for negative health outcomes.

HiTOPS provides health education throughout New Jersey on a range of health topics, including bullying, cyberbullying, sexual harassment, postponing sexual involvement, abstinence, dating violence, sexual assault prevention, appreciating differences, healthy and unhealthy relationships, pregnancy prevention and STI/HIV prevention. Lessons provide factual information, as well as a forum for discussion, to help youth understand the consequences of certain actions and make decisions that are in line with their values and protect their health. Many parents rely on these programs and know that the issues are covered under state mandate. Other parent may choose to opt their children out of these classes.

Some Princeton High School students participate in a class called Teen PEP, where students learn to be peer leaders on similar topics. Freshmen at PHS receive these peer-led programs as part of their health classes. The 900-page manual to which the authors refer in their letter is the training manual for the Teen PEP class, and it is only used by the PHS Juniors who apply and are accepted to be part of the Teen PEP program. Teen PEP is a program developed and implemented by HiTOPS and the Princeton Center for Leadership Training, and funded by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services. This program was also developed in conjunction with the content standards and has been evaluated rigorously for medical accuracy.

While this community is fortunate in so many ways, the fact remains that the U.S. suffers the highest teenage pregnancy rate and higher rates of sexually transmitted diseases amongst teens than all developed countries. National studies are reporting that it is not that they are more sexually active, but that they just do not have the same information as their global peers to protect themselves. Experts around the world agree, HiTOPS’ approach — providing accurate, unbiased information and access to resources and care — is the best approach for reducing risks and promoting health-enhancing decisions.

Elizabeth M. Casparian, PhD

Wiggins Street

April 18, 2012

HiTOPS’s November Half-Marathon Will Spotlight Organization, Town

The November 4 HiTOPS half-marathon promises to be a win-win event for all involved.

As the first Princeton race in some 20 years, it will draw both local and out-of-state spectators who will be reminded, or, perhaps introduced for the first time, to the sights, sounds, history, and pleasures of Princeton. Local merchants’ associations are delighted about the event, and special weekend accommodation packages will be made available to out-of-town runners and their families.

The course of the race is a winner as well. Runners will proceed along a 13.1 mile route that highlights some of Princeton’s most renowned landmarks, including Albert Einstein’s house, the Princeton Battlefield, the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University, Lake Carnegie, and the Herrontown Woods.

It is anticipated that the race will attract 1,000 runners (134 have already signed on), and 3,000 spectators. “Early bird” registration is currently $65. A variety of sponsorship packages are available for both small businesses and large companies, who may call (609) 945-2345, ext. 5051 for details.

The most important winner to come out of the event will be, it is hoped, HiTOPS, which will benefit from both the proceedings and the spotlight it promises to focus on the agency’s work.

At Tuesday’s conference marking the official launch of the half-marathon, more than one speaker referred to the “unsung” accomplishments of the Princeton-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. HiTOPS’s “ultimate goal,” they say, is to nurture “healthy, empowered youth who make health-enhancing choices and avoid long-term negative health outcomes.” The organization’s 25th anniversary in 2013 made this an apt time to kick off a series of events to celebrate the occasion, said executive director Elizabeth Casparian. On November 4, that means all-day music and refreshments at Palmer Square, and a celebratory dinner in the Nassau Inn ballroom for runners and volunteers that evening.

Volunteers are key to the success of the event, noted Jennifer Chung, a long-time volunteer herself. At least 30 people are needed, and those who are interested are encouraged to visit the website http://princetonhalfmarathon.com.

Both Lieutenant Robert Currier of the Borough Police and Township Sergeant Thomas Murray helped to plan the race’s route and will continue to be involved.

“If any of you have kids, you know how valuable HiTOPS is,” said Borough Mayor Yina Moore in her comments at the press conference. In addition to lauding HiTOPS’s services, she noted that the upcoming half-marathon is an additional opportunity — besides traditional University sporting events — to bring outsiders to Princeton. Ms. Moore’s enthusiasm was not dampened by her admission that she “promised not to run,” citing an arthritic shoulder that hampered a symbolic Little League pitch as a telling precedent.

Speakers on Tuesday morning expressed the hope that the half-marathon will become an annual event in Princeton, and Ms. Casparian noted that HiTOPS looks forward to assigning a different theme to each future race. This year’s theme, she reported, is mental health, and HiTOPS has devised a “sophisticated” screening tool, based on confidential consultations, for assessing the likelihood that youngsters may have mental health issues that are associated with making bad decisions in the future.

Asked how much the screening tool costs, Ms. Casparian said that a separate price tag could not be put on it, because it is part of HiTOPS’s tradition of doing an assessment that looks at the whole adolescent.

For more information, visit http://princetonhalfmarathon.com, or write to info@princetonhalfmarathon.com, or call (866) 854-2RUN (2786).