MOUNT DESERT ISLAND – With the local schools back in session, a program offering classes in stress reduction and self-regulation is returning for a second year. The program, Tools For Today & Tomorrow, offers proven techniques to keep participants’ mental health stable and resilient. The Tools program is the creation of Tom Speare, who in 2013 began teaching the techniques to corporations, schools, and private clients worldwide.
The Tools program was first introduced on MDI in 2023 with classes offered to faculty and students at the Mount Desert Elementary School. Speare has since expanded the program to include faculty and staff at MDI High School and Trenton Elementary, with plans for additional growth in the future. Speare has now taught over 100 classes between the school locations, providing weekly opportunities to de-stress and find balance, and looks forward to more than doubling that number over the coming school year.
According to Heather Dorr, principal of MDES, “The value in this program is multi-faceted. The physical, emotional, and mental benefits are measurable and undeniable. Not only does one learn strategies for approaching, navigating, and recovering from stress, one also learns to raise self-care nearer to the top of the list of priorities. That alone is the best thing one can do for oneself.”
Tools for Today & Tomorrow is housed under the non-profit home of Healthy Acadia, which serves as the program’s fiscal sponsor. All Tools classes are provided at no cost to the school district and made possible solely through grants and private donations.
Community support for Tools for Today & Tomorrow to increase stress reduction resources in the local schools is greatly appreciated. To make a donation, visit http://bit.ly/SupportToolsforTodayandTomorrow.
Healthy Acadia is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that engages in a broad range of initiatives to build healthier communities and make it easier for people to lead healthy lives across Washington and Hancock counties. Learn more at www.healthyacadia.org.
