For a plain text version, please scroll down to the bottom.
PLAIN TEXT VERSION
January Volume: An Overview
Happy New Year! This volume includes information on YMHC events and activities, a January self-care calendar, a new recipe, a workout of the month, mental health resources, and more!
Days of Significance
New Year’s Day: Celebrate the first day of every year in the Gregorian calendar.
January 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day - A federal holiday in the United States marking the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.
January 24: First day of YMHC's School Phobia Training Course. Register at https://ymhc.ngo/sptc
January 27: International Holocaust Remembrance Day - UNESCO day to pay tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust
January is Alzheimer Awareness Month, Crime Stoppers Month (Ontario), Ontario March of Dimes Month, and it is the National Hobby Month in Canada. The third week of January is observed as National Non-Smoking Week in Canada.
Welcome 2024!
It's the first month of the year, and in January we look forward to fresh starts, including building healthy habits and spending time with friends and family.
Self-Care Tip
Practice Positive Self-Talk
A major aspect of self-care is the “self” part, and that includes how you view yourself and, importantly, the language you use when talking to yourself.
“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.
I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.
I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You're doing things you've never done before, and more importantly, you're Doing Something.
So that's my wish for you, and all of us, and my wish for myself. Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.
Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.
Make your mistakes, next year and forever.
— Neil Gaman
YMHC New Year Activities
Good Things Jar
This January, start the year with an empty jar and fill it with notes about good things that happen. Then, on one year, empty it and read about your successes, triumphs, good things, and compliments from the past year.
2024 Bucket List
This January, think of the places you would like to visit, books you would like to read, people you would like to meet or reconnect with, experiences you would like to have, food you would like to try, new activities you would like to have, and create a bucket list of goals.
Get Educated
Take a YMHC workshop or training course.
Think about what you would like to know more about in 2024.
Here are some suggestions for free courses:
Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies.
The Science of Well-Being | Yale Online
Support YMHC
Encourage your family and friends to follow YMHC on social media.
Become a YMHC member and get free weekly activities, a free monthly workshop, and many other perks.
January Resource Special
Buy-One-Give-One
Purchase one YMHC print book in January and a book will be donated to an Indigenous community organization.
Get YMHC Merch at https://ymhc.ngo/merch
Personal Wellness Toolkit
What are you going to put in your personal wellness toolkit?
FREE gift valued at $20 when you purchase over $50.
Create your personal wellness toolkit at https://ymhc.ngo/gifts
Heart to Heart Campaign
YMHC is launching a “Heart to Heart” campaign in January 2024.
Knit, sew, or crochet hearts and send them to YMHC, 51 Stuart Street, Hamilton, Ontario, L8L 1B5.
The Sewing Hope Project will add sewn hearts and messages of support.
Messages of support will be added to the hearts and sent to young people who are struggling with their mental health.
There are many ways that people can contribute to youth mental health support, change, and action. We hope that this campaign will become a national campaign to support people of all ages.
YMHC Membership Program in 2024
Free weekly downloads of activities
Activities include a self-care calendar and mental wellness planner, healthy recipes, workouts, fun activities, and worksheets.
Free monthly workshop on a wide range of topics related to mental health and wellness
CLASSIC GINGERSNAP COOKIES
These spiced gingersnaps are our go-to cookie for the holiday season. They are chewy on the inside, crisp on the outside, coated in sugar, and delicious every time.
Ingredients
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar + extra for rolling dough in
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp ginger
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350F on convection.
Cream together the shortening and sugar in a large bowl. Then beat in the molasses and egg.
Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and spices. Add that to the creamed mixture and beat well.
Roll into small balls (approx 2.5 tbsp size, 41g) and then roll in sugar.
Place cookie balls on a baking tray. Don’t flatten - the cookies will do it on their own. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Makes 20 cookies