3 yrs ago, we had a brand, & we had ppl – alliances. We knew the brand & the alliance could do special things, together, but we hadn’t begun any type of formal programming.
The brand was based arnd the idea that ALL of us, “5 out of 5” not just the “1 out of 5” we hear abt in the generic msgs so often, struggle w our MH.
We believed that MH lives on a continuum – & yes disorder is on that continuum, but it’s not the entire continuum itself.
We believed that challenging life events impact us ALL. That stories of everyone from athletes to celebs to CEOs to doctors to everyday folks, is what can bind us – not labels & disorders alone.
We can end up w disorders…but how did we get “there.” What is relatable abt our experiences? How can we come together to attack this topic as a community – instead of individual groups of folks, affected “differently.”
Our 1st foray at programming was w colleges- schools from Cornell to Michigan to Indiana to USC. Smaller schools like Bluffton, Townson, James Madison, Richmond.
It began just w talks- story sharing…& has since grown into so much more: assembly programs, break out sessions, professional development, technologies to connect folks to share feelings, suicide prevention tools, STARR Exercises to have a Gym for the Brain, branding initiatives, etc.
And though the focus of the programming has now grown to encompass 5 areas: K-12s, Colleges, Offices, Service Men/Women & First Responders, Sports Teams & Leagues – the heart of our nonprofit’s efforts are in that K-12 community: #SameHere Schools.
Those 3 yrs ago, the dream was to change culture, by immersing ourselves in schools & working as consultant partners to bring abt that change. This email (in the quote box) we received from a school professional at one of our partner schools, unsolicited, is what makes the effort all worth it.
Today is #GivingTuesday & the first $20,000 we generated is going towards #SameHere Schools programming & doubled by @bearcartage.intermodal & the Thomas C Urso Foundation. The link to help support these efforts is in Stories. We hope you will help us grow this impact: Next slide for how.
