Prevention: Nittany Lion Tips
Nittany Lion Tips are sets of sports trading cards featuring Penn State athletes who offer a positive message or word of encouragement about issues of normal development. These cards are provided to counselors and caseworkers to use in their work with elementary and middle school students. Each year, The Second Mile produces two editions of 25 cards each - the Fall Edition, featuring Penn State football team members, and the Winter Sports Edition, featuring wrestling, men's and women's basketball, and men's and women's gymnastics.
The Tips football cards were first printed in 1988. In the winter of 1989-90 we added the winter set, which included female athletes, in response to the feedback we requested from the counseling professionals using this tool. The issues that the athletes address continue to be chosen based upon this ongoing feedback. Therefore, the issues tackled by the cards are both timely and diverse. In a recent set, they included the following: dealing with divorce or the death of a loved one; what action to take if you find a gun or have a friend who is depressed or suicidal; how to set short and long-term goals; and the importance of not judging others based upon appearance, national origin, or religious affiliation.
The cards are accompanied by a Facilitator's Guide, which includes activity sheets and behavioral contracts, as well as ideas that counselors have generated for their peers regarding different ways to use Tips. The thousands of counselors using the cards and the guide have consistently rated Nittany Lion Tips as "effective" to "very effective."
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