Kyla Faith Memorial Helps Mental Health Initiatives

Kyla Faith Memorial presented a $2,500 donation last week to Schulenburg High School to support the school’s mental health initiatives.

“Our hope is that you are the change for other schools so that they know you can talk about these things,” said Lindsey Tillery, who founded the Kyla Faith Memorial with her husband Eric after the couple lost their daughter Kyla Faith to suicide three years ago.

Following Faith’s tragic death in 2020, Lindsey Tillery began lobbying schools in the area to promote mental health awareness to students. One of her first steps was to ask La Grange High School to paint inspirational messages on the walls of the girls bathrooms at school. Callene Zapalac, who was the Schulenburg Junior High principal at the time, heard about Tillery’s idea and implemented it at her school with a number of other programs. Zapalac along with school counselor Heather Pavlu started a “Caught You Being Good” program that rewarded junior high students for acts of kindness. They also installed a “Care Closet” stocked with items such as feminine hygiene products, deodorant, underwater, bras and other items. Students who need any of those products can discreetly request them without any fear of embarrassment from their peers.

Schulenburg ISD promoted Zapalac to principal of the high school earlier this year. Zapalac brought. Zapalac said she will use the donation to expand the high school’s mental health awareness programs.

“I want to make the high school more welcoming, so that students feel safe and secure being here with us,” Zapalac said.

Zapalac said she wants to start a school “Hope Squad” made up of students who would receive formal training to identify mental health concerns amongst their peers. She said young people may be more willing to share their troubles with friends rather than adults. These Hope Squad members could then assist their fellow students to seek help.

Zapalac said the high school has also implemented an “Inspire Greatness Wall” similar to the “CaughtYou Being Good” program at the junior high. High school students who get “caught” performing acts of kindness receive gift cards donated by local businesses.

“They really like the gift cards,” Zapalac said. “High school students can go off campus for lunch, so it has been really popular.”

Just recently, she said, a woman called the school to praise two students who helped her load groceries into her car at Arlan’s Supermarket. They were the most recent honorees on the Inspire Greatness Wall.

“It doesn’t have to be just at school,” Zapalac said. “If we hear about a good deed outside of school, we’re going to recognize them.”

She also plans to enlist some volunteers to help her repaint the interior hallway walls in the high school and install inspiring messages throughout the school.

“It just needs a facelift,” she said. “We want to have something inspirational everywhere your eye falls.”

“If it makes a difference in one kid, then it’s worth it,” Zapalac said.

Kyla Faith Memorial will hold a banquet fundraiser on Saturday, May 6, from 6:30 to 11 p.m. at the La Grange KC Hall. The meal will be served at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and the meal includes barbecue chicken, buttered potatoes, pinto beans, coleslaw and trimmings. There will be a live auction and silent auction.

There will also be card games and merchandise for sale. Tickets can be purchased from YM Apparel, We Stitch, Tenth Frame Bowling Alley, Fayette Savings Bank locations in Schulenburg, La Grange, Flatonia and Weimar, Callene Zapalac and Hailee Vincent.