Stephanie Weber has lots to thank Joe Popp for.
For starters, “he changed my life,” Weber says of her sixth-grade teacher at Bardwell Elementary School in Aurora, who is now 90 and living in Oregon, Illinois.
Popp, then a new teacher back in the late 1950s, did so by making a bright but overweight 12-year-old who wore pink glasses feel important again after experiencing a “fifth-grade teacher from hell” who “favored the kids who had money,” recalled Weber, the longtime executive director of Suicide Prevention Services/Stone Manor Counseling.
“He treated all of his students with such kindness,” 78-year-old Weber told me, adding that her former teacher became her colleague after she obtained a degree in education and returned to teach at Bardwell.
Even back then, however, Popp’s passion for art was evident, and one of her most empowering moments was when he convinced his insecure student to enter an art contest, despite having, as Weber put it, “minimal to no” talent.
“I was just so proud of that piece,” she said of her 3-D entry that featured a lily pond, and that she, surprisingly, kept well into her 70s.
Popp eventually left teaching to open an art studio in Aurora, which he ran until about 30 years ago when he and wife Dona moved to Oregon. But Weber and Popp remained friends. And it’s from her former teacher that Weber heard about an “Art Dash” fundraiser that this historic little town on the Rock River has been doing successfully for the past four years.
While attending the event with Popp last year she saw how it could be replicated, especially in an artistic community like the Fox Valley.
An art dash is described as a fast-paced fundraiser where local artists donate pieces of their work and supporters purchase tickets for the opportunity to rush to claim the artwork they want. Suicide Prevention Services officials are dubbing their event “Spring into Art.” It will be held from 5:30-9:30 p.m. March 19 at Society 57 in downtown Aurora, where the dashers – or in this case, “springers” – will compete three at a time to get that piece of art they have their eyes on.
The cost to be an observer only is $85 and will include hors d’oeuvres, desserts and cash bar. To get in on the action as a participant is $125, with each guaranteed a piece of art, some of which will range into the thousands of dollars, noted Weber.
Suicide Prevention Services has certainly grown in the nearly three decades since it was founded by Weber. The nonprofit not only runs the 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, it features direct counseling at both its Stone Manor Counseling in Batavia and satellite office which opened on the second floor of Old Second Bank in downtown Aurora about 16 months ago.
The nonprofit also facilitates support groups and other community outreach programs and has contracts with some school districts that offer presentations, as well as clinicians who can provide assessments, support and referrals.
The money raised at this upcoming event, Weber said, will go toward hiring more therapists so there will be no waiting lists for those requiring counseling but can’t otherwise afford it.
“We have many more people coming to our front doors in crisis who did not even make an appointment. And that’s why we always have licensed clinicians ready to help,” she said, adding that the mental health of this country “has never been worse,” in large part because of the political and social unrest roiling our communities.
“The fear and anxiety is making people feel helpless,” especially those who feel targeted and marginalized, Weber said.
As an example she points to a close friend who, because she has trouble walking, was approached by a helpful Hispanic man while both were entering a Jewel recently. While she declined his offer for assistance, the pair began to talk – she told him about her husband in hospice, he opened up about the fear he feels every time he leaves his home.
By the end of that walk, “both were in tears,” Weber told me.
The world is certainly a different place from when she was was a young girl who found her mojo again thanks to a caring teacher. But one thing remains constant, Weber insisted.
“As a staff we talk about making a difference in the lives of those who come to us. But we want them to take what they get from us and pay it forward … to make a difference in the lives of others.”
This fundraiser, she is convinced, will help SPS do just that. Those interested in taking part – as an artist, sponsor, a “springer” or as an observer – can go to the Suicide Prevention Services website and click on the “Spring into Art” link at the top of the page.
Not only will the event put the spotlight on community artists as well as suicide prevention and awareness, Weber promises “it will be a lot of fun.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
