Rainbows Facilitator Training

Upcoming Rainbows Training Opportunities

PLEASE NOTE: Next Chapter Society is currently undergoing a transition and is seeking an Executive Director (only employee). During this transition period, if you require Rainbows Site Set Up or Rainbows Facilitator Training, please connect with Rainbows Canada directly at 705-726-7407 or by email to kimberly@rainbows.ca. Thank you for your understanding and patience during our transition.

Rainbows™ is an internationally acclaimed peer-support program offered by a variety of community agencies free of charge to children and families, to help them cope with grief due to divorce, separation, death or abandonment. Rainbows™ promotes emotional healing by giving participants the opportunity to share their feelings and grieve their loss within a safe, caring setting, with peers who are experiencing a similar transition. The program, started by Suzy Yehl-Marta in 1983, has helped millions of children in 18 countries.

Next Chapter Society and Rainbows

Next Chapter Society supports Rainbows™ in Alberta, by partnering with 110 sites in 30 communities. Our team helps new Rainbows™ sites to start up, as well as provides ongoing support, which includes training coordinators and facilitators. Our partners provide Rainbows™ to over 1,000 children every year, in schools, churches and other agencies. Please call us for program availability or details, or if you would like to bring Rainbows™ to your community; we will be glad to help you set it up.

The Rainbows Programs

When a change takes place in the family, whether it is death, divorce, separation or abandonment, it has a profound effect on all its members. Grief is both an expression of love, and a normal human reaction to a significant loss. If it isn’t healed at the appropriate time, its impact can be destructive.

The aim of Rainbows™ is to assist these grieving children, adolescents and adults to develop a belief in their own goodness and the value of their family. It teaches that each change in life is an occasion for a new beginning. The goal of the support group, which is led by trained volunteers, is to assist participants in expressing and understanding their feelings, accepting what has happened, and experiencing a sense of belonging and love.

Evaluations received from Rainbows™ participants and parents have shown a 53% increase in the children’s self-esteem, a positive correlation with academic achievement and a 75% decrease in absenteeism from school.

Rainbows™ includes several programs to meet the
needs of various age groups.

The four currently offered in Alberta are:

SunBeams
13 week or 10 week program for pre-schoolers
Rainbows
13 week or 10 week program for elementary-age children
Spectrum
13 week or 10 week program for adolescents
Prism
13 week or 10 week program for single parents and step-parents
Note: It is recommended that parents and children take Rainbows and Prism concurrently, when available.

Each of the programs cover the
same twelve core topics:

– Self
– Feelings
– Divorce/Death/Loss/Grief
– Transitions and Changes
– Angers and Hurts
– Fears and Worries
– Family
– Belonging
– Step-family
– Acceptance
– Coping Tools
– Reaching Out

For further information about the Rainbows™ Program and Curriculum, learn more by visiting Rainbows Canada or Rainbows International.

Facilitator Training and Site Set Up

 

Next Chapter Society provides training workshops for Rainbows™ Facilitators and Coordinators for central and northern Alberta program sites several times per year, through our certified Rainbows™ Registered Directors. We support agencies in the set up and maintenance of Rainbows™ sites all throughout the province of Alberta.

The 8 hour Facilitator workshop covers Rainbows™ program components and resources for groups ranging from preschoolers to adults, as well as:

  • Personal work on understanding grief
  • Facilitation skills and helping children to express their feelings
  • Active listening skills
  • Difficult behaviours
  • Confidentiality and disclosures
  • Facilitator training also includes hands–on sessions in small groups

NOTE: Facilitator training is open only to individuals who will be facilitating Rainbows™ groups within a registered site. For more information on how to become a registered site, please contact us.

Coordinator training (1.5-2 hours) covers Coordinator responsibilities, which include organizing the groups, program promotion, Facilitator recruitment and mentoring, ordering materials, funding needs, record keeping, etc. Each Rainbows™ Site needs a trained Coordinator, who is also one of the Facilitators.

Site Set Up involves the initial set up and training of a new community site to run Rainbows™ programs. Cost includes training for up to 6 facilitators per site, the first order of applicable rainbows materials and support from our team of Registered Directors. Costs are dependant on level of Rainbows™ program and/or training requirements. For more information, please contact us.

Upcoming Rainbows Coordinator Training Opportunities

PLEASE NOTE: Next Chapter Society is currently undergoing a transition and is seeking an Executive Director (only employee). During this transition period, if you require Rainbows Site Set Up or Rainbows Facilitator Training, please connect with Rainbows Canada directly at 705-726-7407 or by email to kimberly@rainbows.ca. Thank you for your understanding and patience during our transition.