AIR Honors Chelsea Allen as Partner in Hope in Preventing Suicide

PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY (October 1, 2019) – Attitudes In Reverse® (AIR™), a Princeton-based nonprofit organization, will honor Chelsea Allen, Student Assistance Counselor at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, with a Partner in Hope award during its fourth annual Taste of Hope fundraising event on October 16, 2019 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Princeton Marriott at Forrestal, 100 College Road East, Princeton, NJ. In addition to honoring Allen, the affair is designed to build awareness of AIR and support its mission of saving lives through mental-health and suicide prevention education.

“In the 2018-19 school year, the West Windsor School district suffered a terrific blow, a heartbreaking loss. Chelsea stepped in to provide the love and support for the entire student body. We are grateful to her for the love she puts into her work as a student assistance counselor. We are also grateful to her for the care and concern she shows to all of her students,” said Kurt and Tricia Baker, Co-Founders of AIR.

“To be honored by AIR, a program that I hold in such high regard, is a highlight in both my professional career as well as being meaningful to me personally. I work with young people helping support them through difficult issues they face during high school. To be able to partner with such an incredible organization in the community is really unbelievable,” Allen said. “Getting to know and work with Tricia and Kurt, their willingness to be available to our school and students, helps me run more successful programs and engage more students than I would be able to do on my own. They are truly an asset to our community.”

“AIR has a secret weapon: dogs,” Allen added, referring to AIR Dogs, who are certified therapy dogs. “When the dogs come into the school, the majority of students want to come, wherever they are going. The dogs make talking about difficult topics so much easier, and they themselves are calming. Whether the dogs are visiting a health class, a school-wide event or a school after a traumatic loss, kids show up because the dogs showed up. By bringing dogs into the school, AIR engages students who might not otherwise attend such events or discussions. The AIR dogs are one of, if not the most effective therapeutic tool I have ever seen in working with students,” according to Allen.

The Taste of Hope event is sponsored by: AIR Sponsor – Milana Family Foundation; Faith Sponsors – BeTheLi9ht Foundation (formerly Fly High Coby); GlaxoSmithKline; J. Robert Bratman, Esq.; Jennifer D. Garofolo, MPH, MPA; Kalavruzos Mumola Hartman & Lento; Monarch Title Agency, Inc.; Princeton Brain & Spine; and Stark & Stark Attorneys at Law; and United Diagnostics; Dignity Sponsors – Bristol-Myers Squibb;

Leary, Bride, Mergner & Bongiovani, P.A.; Ron & Tricore; and Sweetwater Construction Corp./Tricore; Love Sponsors – American Medical Communications; Beato Chiropractic; Dr. Cynthia Bratman; Dr. Uday Bhatt; Dr. Wael Elkholy from Precision Pain Spine Institute; Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic; Hammer Companies; Hinkle, Fingles, Prior & Fischer Attorneys at Law; Horizon NJ Health; Pennsauken Radiology; Provident Bank; PSE&G; Robert Angel; Szaferman Lakind Attorneys at Law; Talat Elkholy Charitable Foundation; United IONM; US 1 Courier Services; Victory Healthcare Communications; and Wolf Commercial Real Estate, LLC; Full-Day Class Sponsors – Bristol-Myers Squibb and Haymarket Media, Inc.; and Half-Day Class Sponsors – Albert Stark, Esq.; Butler Human Services; Century 21 Abrams, Hutchinson & Associates; Certified Financial Services; Certified Medical Solutions; Dustin Gordon, PhD; First Bank; Guy J. Renzi and Associates, Inc.; Hamilton Pain & Rehabilitation Associates, LLC; Investors Bank; Merlin Industries; and Shaun Urban.

The following businesses are participating in this event: Restaurants – Antimo’s Italian Kitchen, Bluefish Grill, Bonefish Grill, Brickhouse Tavern & Tap, Crown of India, De Lorrenzo’s Pizza, Iron & Ivory, Local Greek, Made from Scratch, Outback Steakhouse, PF Chang’s, Ruth’s Chris Steak House and Texas Roadhouse; Desserts – Carella’s Chocolates, Classic Dezerts, Khalila’s CornKrush, McCaffrey’s, and Seasons 52; and Wine, Beer, Spirits – CATB Liquor Import, Plush Vodka, Señor Sangria, Sourland Mountain Spirits and Super Buy Rite Wine, Hamilton Square and Pennington.

To register to attend the October 16th Taste of Hope event, please visit www.toh.ngo. For more information about this event, please contact Dennis Dias, Antares Event Planning & Consulting, LLC, at 908-208-2696 or dennisddias@hotmail.com.

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Attitudes In Reverse® (AIR™) was established by Kurt, Tricia and Katelyn Baker of Plainsboro, NJ, in 2010, soon after their son/brother Kenny died by suicide following a long battle against severe depression and anxiety. Their mission is to save lives by educating students about mental health, related disorders and suicide prevention. Since January 2011, they have presented to more than 80,000 students in middle and high schools and colleges in New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Missouri, Texas and Arizona. AIR also offers Youth Mental Health First Aid instruction and includes the AIR Dogs: Paws for Minds™ program, bringing dogs into schools to help students de-stress and engage in the conversation about mental health. In addition, AIR trains and certifies Emotional Support Animals and offers a lunch-and-learn program for businesses. For more information about AIR™, please visit https://air.ngo or call 609-945-3200.