Respect Rally from Respect Rx on Vimeo.

The Respect Rally is a half-day conference—followed by a 18-session program guide (The Respect Keep It Going! Kit)—that empowers teens to boost self-respect and spread respect for all through The Respect Basics.

The Rally is based on our best-selling book for teen girls, RESPECT: A Girl's Guide to Getting Respect & Dealing When Your Line Is Crossed, which has been featured by CNN, National Public Radio, USA Today, Glamour, Teen Vogue and others.

Based on the success of the girl program, we have now created a co-ed Rally for teen boys, too, and a college program! The Rally can also be formatted for parents and teen advocates. For middle school students, we offer Respect Connect, a 90-minute program.

Watch these testimonials from a recent Rally we led for Derek Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation:

Co-Ed Respect Rally from Respect Rx on Vimeo.

After attending the Rally: 98% of 500 teens surveyed understood the difference between respect and disrespect (up from 51% prior to attending the Rally)…90% of teens respected each other as equals (up from 65%).…82% felt equipped to make positive choices and act as role models (up from 42%).

There are 3 ways to bring a Respect Rally to your site:
1. Book a Respect Rally: Respect Rx can lead a Rally for your campus or organization.

2. Get trained: Attend a train-the-trainer and learn how to be a Respect Rally Leader. Deliver the program for your campus or non-profit organization year after year!

3. Do both: Respect Rx can lead your Rally and then train you—and the teens or young adults you serve—how to lead the program at your site in the future.

Program Snapshot: How it can work for you. (PDF)

INFORMATION KITS
Teen Girls (PDF)

Co-ed Teens (PDF)

College (PDF)

CONTACT US
Email or call (415) 315-9707

• 1 in every 2 females worldwide has been abused during her lifetime.
• 50% of teens in serious relationships say they've gone against their beliefs to please their partner, including going further sexually than they wanted.
• 1 in 5 teens who’ve been in a serious relationship report being hit, slapped or pushed by a partner.
• 3 out of 10 teen girls become pregnant.
• 1 in 3 students drop out of high school.
• 4 in 10 teen boys have a criminal record.

We believe respect is the remedy. When teens’ self-respect—and respect for others—is going strong, anything is possible. They make healthier choices, create respectful relationships, achieve their goals and become leaders who spread respect for all. To make respect the new status quo, we created the Respect: Keep It Going! Kit. Advocates can use the Kit to partner with teens to lead a respect-building program for 6 to 18 weeks. 

During their “Respect Pod” sessions throughout the program, teens learn to:
• use the Respect Basics to build self-respect and make healthy choices
• value themselves
• follow their passions
• set boundaries and speak up
• listen to their gut and compassionately listen to others
• create relationships based on mutual respect
• get help dealing with disrespect dilemmas, such as peer pressure, dating and domestic violence, bullying, negative body image, the “-isms” and other tough issues
• lead social change to create a better world where all people are respected

The program builds on the themes and activities featured in our popular Respect Rally program, which we’ve led for thousands of teen girls and boys around the United States, as well as the award-winning book that I co-authored: RESPECT: A Girl’s Guide to Getting Respect & Dealing When Your Line Is Crossed (Free Spirit Publishing, 2005). After completing just four sessions of our program, teens report notable outcomes: 

• 98% of 500 teens surveyed understood the difference between respect and disrespect (up from 51% prior to the program)
• 90% of teens respected each other as equals (up from 65%)
• 82% felt equipped to make positive choices and act as role models (up from 42%)
• 94% said they feel more comfortable setting boundaries and speaking up (up from 70%)
• 81% said they will get help when they were disrespected or to achieve their goals (up from 42%)

Pod Sessions are:
• delivered during a 6- to 18-week program (your choice!)
• 60-minutes, experiential and include group discussion
• easily shortened, customized to fit within a wider youth development program and require minimal prep and supplies
• designed using the same activity template to create a consistent experience
• written to be led by teens, adults or co-lead

Also included in the Kit:
• evaluation templates and handouts
• membership to the Respect Connect social network, which includes training webinars, videos for Sessions, tips from other Kit users, a digital copy of the Kit and other resources

LOOK INSIDE!
Click here to view a PDF of the cover, introduction, table of contents, FAQ, session overview, sample session and back cover.

Rights & Permissions

ORDER
$225.00 USD (+ $10 for U.S. shipping)

To order by check, fill out this order form and send a check or money order to:
Respect Rx
1743 Park Avenue #429
San Jose, CA 95126
(415) 315-9707

International Orders
Please email us directly at kit@respectrx.com to place your order and receive a shipping quote.

TRAINING
You can register for tele-coaching or on-site training to help you implement the Kit at your site. To inquire about training and fees, contact us:  415.315.9707 • kit@respectrx.com

PRAISE!

"The Respect: Keep It Going! Kit is extraordinary in its ability to provide fun, low-risk exercises to explore some of the most challenging issues teens face. The lessons are easy to teach and they're full of heart. The Kit gets teens' attention right away. I am excited to work with this curriculum!” —Rachel Simmons, founder of he Girls Leadership Institute and author of Odd Girl Out

“Our faculty was trained to use the Respect: Keep It Going! Kit and we’ve have modified the lessons to use in a 6-week ‘Respect Mini-Series’ during our weekly homeroom meetings. We’re planning on implementing lessons in our homerooms every year as part of a school-wide goal to increase respect among our students.” —Amy Gose, guidance counselor, Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Georgia

"As a result of the Respect Rx programs, many of the teens will be empowered to make changes that will help them develop into strong people who are confident, capable and self-reliant.”—Robert Lehr, Connecticut Association of Schools and Dove Self-Esteem Fund Partner

“Intuitive and organic, the activities were inspiring and incredibly impactful for the teens and adults alike.” —Leanne Gluck, program manager, Girl Scouts of the USA

"After the program, our students saw themselves as agents of change and developed ways to begin spreading respect locally and globally. If Respect Rallies happened at all schools across the nation, our world as a whole would definitely be impacted positively."
—Stephanie Payes, counselor, KIPP San Jose Collegiate

Product Details
Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 143 pages
Publisher: Respect Rx (January 1, 2010)
Language: English
Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 11.5 inches

Speaking
And I have a series of new interactive keynotes about respect for teens, parents and youth organizations. Contact the American Program Bureau to book your program! Speaker topics from APB's website:

TEENS
Respect Connect: Find out how Respect is connected to everything: your feelings about yourself, your choices, your relationships and your future. In this inspiring keynote presentation, teens learn how to connect self-respect to their choices today—and their future.

Respect in Relationships: What makes a relationship respectful? And when can you tell if disrespect has taken over? In this keynote presentation, Macavinta addresses how to use the Respect Basics to make sure respect is a basic in all your relationships: family, friends, and with boyfriends/girlfriends.

Spread Respect: What is the change you want to be and see? In this keynote speech, teens are inspired to spread respect. They hear stories and watch video clips about disrespect going on in the world that negatively affects us all. Then they explore their own plan to make a difference and their voices heard.

GIRLS
Body Respect: A big part of self-respect is respecting your body too. In this keynote presentation, Macavinta brings to light the forces that can often make a girl disconnect and disrespect from her body or even hate her body (and the person who lives there). With eye-opening discussion, girls will walk away with the ability to make healthier choices, and more importantly, how to respect themselves.

The New Popular: Respect: It’s time for a respect revolution — no overthrow necessary! In this innovative keynote, girls learn to work together to create a sense of sisterhood at school and in the world at large. Macavinta addresses the roots of issues like name-calling, rumors, and sexual harassment so that girls know how to deal in the face of disrespect. Girls also get the tools to rise above drama and transform friends into foes—and most importantly, become their own best friends.

PARENTS/ADULTS
How to be a Respect Role Model: Learn how to model the Respect Basics for your kids, and how to reap the benefits along the way. From setting more boundaries to trusting your gut to the Respect Levels of Listening, discover how to make sure respect is a basic in your family—and beyond.

contact:
Melissa Abrahams
The American Program Bureau
(800) 225-4575 ext. 1621
mabrahams@apbspeakers.com

FREE BODY RESPECT SESSION
You can download our facilitator's guide for the Body Session from our new Respect: Keep It Going! Kit. You can use the guide to lead teen girls or young women in a powerful respect-building session focused on their bodies. Fill out this form to download the session guide!

Now, more than ever, self-care needs to mean so much more. Self-care is actually the ultimate form of self-respect. Maybe it can even save the world? Stay with me...

Because here's the thing I don't always want to admit: When my self-care sucks, my integrity wanes. I cancel on you at the last-minute. I show up half-hearted. I'm more cranky and close-minded. I don't pay attention. I make more messes. I'm not as helpful. That one really sucks because my No. 1 goal in life is to be of service. So self-care is really that important for me. Or I actually get really off track in life. And I want my partners (professional and romantic) to up their self-care too—otherwise everything suffers. We're not fooling anyone (and neither are you).

For me, honest self-care doesn't mean cramming in 50 minutes at the gym in which the whole time I'm thinking about what I'll make for dinner and that the engine light is on in my car and that she had some nerve. So if it's not just about bubble baths and hitting the gym, what does this "self-care" stuff mean?

One of the definitions of care is: "watchful attention." I love this definition. This is where I smell the world-changing potential of real self-care. To this end, I've broken self-care down into a totally scientific process I call S.T.O.P. Try it!

LEAD ON 2009: CHECKED BAGGAGE from Ellen Frankenstein on Vimeo.

Body Image on HearSay with Cathy Lewis: My friend Courtney Martin is on the show too. I'm came on during the second half of the hour.

Teen & Parent leadership development on Voice America: Learn how you can support the growth of future leaders now by applying RESPECT Rx in today’s challenging environment at work and at home. Co-hosted by my lovely friend and best-selling author Cathy Greenburg.

As part of the movement to end domestic violence, we're offering one of our signature workshop sessions, The Respect Basics, to teen advocates for free.

Free Workshop Session (Leader's Guide)
You can use the leader's guide for this 60-minute session, an excerpt from our Respect: Keep It Going! Kit, to help teens explore how to use the Respect Basics in their own lives, relationships and, ultimately, to end forms of disrespect like domestic and dating violence.

We hope this session will strengthen your domestic and dating violence prevention programs by showing teens that no matter what form of disrespect they're struggling with: respect is the remedy.

Click here to download the free workshop:

I just got back from the Lead ON! for Peace and Equality Youth Minisummit hosted by the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault . The young men and women (and advocates) there were so powerful, creative and open. They are working together to end violence and to help all Alaskans thrive. I learned so much from them about the unique conditions they face in Alaska and how tight-knit their communities can be—an asset in creating change. They made some awesome video projects I'll post here later.

We also completed our first Rally at a KIPP school (KIPP San Jose Collegiate). If you haven't already, read this book (Work Hard. Be Nice.: How Two Inspired Teachers Created the Most Promising Schools in America) about how KIPP spreads respect through its culture and academic breakthroughs. And we did two Rallies with the energetic teens at the Envision school Impact Academy of Arts and Technology who made us cry with their stories, love of their school and stands for justice for all.

Next up, we head to Los Angeles for a Rally with the amazing young women at Cornelia Connelly High School. At Eastern Michigan University, college women will attend a Rally and then be trained to lead Rallies.

In New York we'll Rally with Derek Jeter's Turn 2 Foundation. The teens are members of Jeter's Leaders, which is a youth leadership and social change program. The program is designed to promote healthy lifestyles, academic achievement, and social change activism among high school students. Throughout the year, members of the Jeter's Leaders are involved in projects that offer opportunities for them to learn more about themselves and their community. The Leaders are expected to model positive behavior and deliver a message to their peers focusing on staying in school, remaining drug and alcohol free and giving back to the community.

Upcoming

Respect Rx Training
Blessed Trinity High School
Georgia
October 26, 2009

Respect Rally
Eastern Michigan University
October 23, 2009

Meetings with Allies and Lawmakers
Washington D.C.
Oct. 19-21, 2009

Respect Rally
Turn 2 Foundation: Derek Jeter's Leaders
New York
October 17, 2009

Respect Rally
Cornelia Connelly High School
Anaheim, CA
October 16, 2009

We agree: All people need the Respect Basics. That's why our programs unite youth and their advocates to set their own standards for respect and to learn how to model respect. Starting, of course, with respect on the inside!

After attending a Respect Rx program, 500 teens surveyed showed notable shifts: 

• 98% understood the difference between respect and disrespect (up from 51% prior to attending the program)
• 84% understood how to respect themselves (up from 25%).
• 90% respected each other as equals (up from 65%).
• 94% said they feel more comfortable setting boundaries and speaking up (up from 70%).
• 73% understood how to create respect in their relationships (up from 39%).
• 81% said they will definitely get help when they were disrespected or if they need it to achieve their goals or create change (up from 42%).
• 82% felt equipped to make positive choices and act as role models (up from 42%).

What can we do? Creating a non-violent world is not an overnight process. But it is a process that can start on the inside. No matter your age, start now:

1. Book
My friend Victor Rivas, spokesperson for the National Network to End Domestic Violence, wrote this gripping memoir about his own survival of domestic violence. I feel it is especially powerful for teens to read as Victor tells his story of finally breaking free by telling his truth and getting help.
A Private Family Matter: A Memoir

2. Hotline
U.S. National Domestic Violence Hotline
1-800-799-7233
Resources

3. Programs
Family Violence Prevention Fund
Check out its Respect Campaign and Lessons from Literature program.

4. Parent Tools
MADE and Love is Not Abuse
Free program that moms, dads and schools can lead to prevent and end teen dating violence.
Learn more here

I've mentioned this before on Respect Rx: My first memory in life is of my mom getting a severe beating from my dad. Both my parents were victims of child abuse. Both were caught up in the cycle of violence for a very long time. It rocked our family and held everyone back in one way or another. (I talk about it here in this video.)

Domestic violence weakens us all. It's hard to know that it is happening some times and how to stop it. It comes up all the time when we are working with girls and women at Respect Rallies or retreats. 1 in 5 teens who have been in a serious relationship report being hit, slapped or pushed by a partner. That's why I want you all to at least know what the cycle of violence is.

The cycle of violence goes something like this:
Tension builds and the abuser is verbally abusive ->
The abuser explodes and beats you up or commits rape ->
They abuser say he/she feels bad, are sorry or even buys you presents ->
You are afraid to leave or beaten down emotionally and stay ->
It starts all over again…Kids who witness the violence may become abusers or victims too.

If you need help right now:
Please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or check out their website.

Love is Not Abuse is another helpful site.

Also, please check out:
Pages 143-151 in RESPECT. We cover the whole range there and offer resources and journal exercises.

More tips and help:
Abuse, Violence, Self-Harm

Whether you are the victim or abuser, you need help. Please reach out. Including to me.

Pennsylvania Conference for Women
Pittsburgh, PA
September 17, 2009

Texas Conference for Women
Houston, TX
November 12, 2009