Every August, families begin making their back-to-school lists. Backpacks. Notebooks. Pencils. New shoes. Water bottles. Lunch boxes. These supplies help students get through their school day but we also need tools that cannot be tucked neatly inside a backpack or pencil pouch. Our youth need trusted adults. They need healthy ways to manage stress and big emotions. They need spaces where they feel seen, supported, and connected. They need reminders of their strengths, hopes, and goals. Most of all, they need to know they do not have to face life’s challenges alone.

That is why I am thrilled to invite my community to the Back-to-School Youth & Family Resilience Celebration: Life Is a Battle and We Will Win taking place on Sunday, August 16, from 2:00–4:00 p.m. at the Sun Prairie Public Library.

The event is free and designed primarily for youth ages 10 and older and their caregivers.

More Than a Back-to-School Event

The celebration grew from a simple idea: What would happen if we treated resilience, emotional awareness, supportive relationships, and healthy coping skills as essential school supplies? The result is an interactive afternoon where youth and families can move, create, reflect, laugh, connect, and learn together. The event will include:

• A dance party
• Youth voices and author stories
• A Youth Mental Health Art Walk
• Games and giveaways
• Interactive youth resilience activities
• Caregiver resources
• Family connection activities
• Community mental-health and family-support resources

Rather than approaching mental health only through crisis, this event will create a joyful and approachable space for prevention, conversation, connection, and hope.

Youth are encouraged to identify the people, personal strengths, coping strategies, goals, and sources of hope they can carry into the school year. Caregivers will receive practical tools for fostering connection, communication, and emotional safety at home. Families will also have an opportunity to develop shared strategies they can use when life becomes stressful.

The goal is not for families to leave with every answer. It is for them to leave with more language, more connection, and a clearer understanding of where they can turn for support.

About Life Is a Battle and We Will Win

The event is inspired by the book Life Is a Battle and We Will Win: Stories of Hope and Resilience, created by Dr. Jasmine Zapata in collaboration with an intergenerational group of authors, educators, physicians, parents, grandparents, youth mentors, therapists, advocates, and young people. The book brings together honest stories from people who have faced difficult experiences and continued moving forward. Through personal narratives, reflection prompts, activities, and practical encouragement, readers are reminded that struggle does not mean their story is over.

The central message is simple: Life may feel like a battle sometimes, but with support, resilience, community, and the right tools, we can keep going and we can win.

The book is part of the national Life Is a Battle and We Will Win Youth and Family Empowerment Book Tour, a movement working to place stories of hope and practical mental-wellness tools into the hands of 50,000 youth and young adults. As a contributing author, I am especially proud to help bring that movement home to Sun Prairie.

Centering Youth Voice Through Art

One of the most meaningful parts of the event will be the Youth Mental Health Art Walk. Young people have been invited to submit drawings, sketches, and paintings representing their experiences with emotions, mental health, stress, hope, identity, belonging, resilience, or growth. Art can communicate experiences that are not always easy to put into words. By displaying youth-created work, we hope to honor their perspectives, encourage healthy conversation, reduce stigma, and remind young people that their voices matter.

Building a Community of Support

The celebration is being hosted in partnership with the Sun Prairie Public Library, with additional community partners invited to share resources and support for youth and families. Libraries are uniquely powerful spaces for events like this. They are places of learning, creativity, storytelling, belonging, and equitable access. They also allow families to explore difficult subjects in an environment that feels familiar, welcoming, and connected to the broader community.

Our accepted program vision is to create a safe and uplifting experience where youth are reminded that they matter, they are not alone, and resilience is something they can learn and strengthen.

Join Us

The Life Is a Battle and We Will Win Back-to-School Youth & Family Resilience Celebration will be held:

Sunday, August 16
2:00–4:00 p.m.
Sun Prairie Public Library, Community Room
1350 Linnerud Drive, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin

The event is free and designed for youth ages 10 and older and their caregivers. Advance registration is recommended. Register Today!

Please share the event with a family, educator, coach, youth leader, counselor, or community member who may benefit.

Together, we can help young people begin the school year with more than notebooks and pencils. We can help them carry hope, courage, trusted relationships, healthy coping strategies, and the belief that no matter what challenges they encounter, they do not have to face them alone.

No matter how hard life gets, don’t give up. You will win.