Photo - Brasher Falls HOPE visit

BRASHER FALLS –– For the second time this school year, a duo of cape-less superheroes will emerge upon Brasher Falls to show students and educators how they can spread HOPE (Hold On, Possibilities Exist!) in their classrooms — and beyond.

Tom Murphy and Pat Fish, of Sweethearts & Heroes, a student empowerment and empathy activation team that prevents bullying and suicide, will work in the Brasher Falls Central School District on Thursday, Nov. 17 and Friday, Nov. 18.

The Sweethearts & Heroes team is: Murphy, director and co-founder, of St. Albans, Vt.; Rick Yarosh, a retired U.S. Army sergeant, HOPE expert and motivational speaker from New York who was burned severely while serving in Iraq; and Fish, an aspiring young leader who first saw Sweethearts & Heroes as a student in South Glens Falls.

“We’re thrilled to be back in New York for the 2022-2023 school year, and we’re honored that our friends and colleagues in Brasher Falls have invited us back to their district,” said Murphy, whose team worked with Brasher Falls students and teachers in September. “The most recent national data tells us that student anxiety and hopelessness are still on the rise — a trend that was escalating before COVID hit — so our work in Brasher Falls is crucial.”

Sweethearts & Heroes offers a presentation that calls for HOPE, Empathy and Action; Circle, which is built on the ancient ritual of communicating in a circle to build empathy; and BRAVES Buddies, which trains older students in bully drills that they, in turn, teach to students in lower grades.

While in Brasher Falls, Murphy and Fish will facilitate Circles.

“Circle is about building a support network for students in all grades, so that when they are struggling with social and emotional obstacles, they will have the resources necessary to manage those struggles,” Murphy said. “If you dedicate to Circle, if you commit to Circle on a regular basis, an entire culture can change. We’ve seen it happen thousands of times.”

“The SLC students and staff loved their first day spent with Tom and Rick, and now they are looking forward to having Tom back with Pat,” Jamie LaBarge, Brasher Falls Central School District middle school principal said. “Many of our students said that it was the best assembly they had ever had.”

For more info, visit sweetheartsandheroes.com.