Community Outreach Project Jan 1, 2025 - Apr 6, 2025 Times Vary ( 4 hours ) DETAILS Share a 3-5 sentences describing the Mental Health program/event which you designed and led in your community. Use details to highlight skills you leveraged, people you engaged and the impact from this effort. Include details like: Project Name + type: (hands-on project, an event, or education/awareness activity) Who was engaged and the number of people What did they do or learn? What did you learn from this experience. Your photos for this task entry should capture the spirit of the project and the preparation required. Does this write up work for this prompt: Anxiety Perspectives: Inside and Out video lesson social anxiety.mp4 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IBYfDzPoTernwJjmB7PS8NRIojtdkZuF/view?usp=sharing For the #CreateConnectCare campaign, I developed a social anxiety awareness video (see link) that was selected as a prototype for mental health advocacy. The video, which has reached many students, incorporates perspective taking on what the experience of social anxiety is like and concludes with a 3-2-1 discussion framework: identifying three ways to support a friend experiencing anxiety, naming two trusted people to talk to, and thinking of one self-care strategy. The video is designed to be shown at school during advisory time in both high schools and middle schools, helping to destigmatize mental health discussions and foster a supportive environment. This project also served as a springboard for creating the “Chill Space,” an initiative I designed to provide students with a calming environment to decompress and find relaxing activities and peer support during school. These might include snacks, art supplies, building opportunities (e.g., Legos) or other simple activities in a classroom or other space during the school day. The Chill Space, which includes trained student ambassadors, offers resources like stress-relief activities and discussion opportunities to help students navigate anxiety in the educational environment. Both the video (link above) and the Chill Space reflect my commitment to reducing mental health stigma and creating spaces where students feel seen, supported, and empowered

When I started organizing the #CreateConnectCare campaign, I assumed only students already involved in mental health work, or those that were already feeling they were creative and artistic, would participate. But I was surprised by how many others wanted to share once they realized their voice mattered and that there were easy ways to think about being creative. That, and offering new and different art supplies like clay and scratch off paper. I partnered with school clubs like Key Club and NHS to spread the word, and we collected over 50 submissions. I learned that giving people flexible ways to contribute builds stronger engagement. The biggest surprise was how deeply personal and creative the submissions were—many students used this as a way to process their own emotions. Leading this campaign helped me grow my outreach, communication, and event coordination skills. it did take a very long time to upload submissions though.

Serving on the Youth Advisory Council gave me the chance to turn ideas into action and help shape how mental health is supported in schools. I was especially drawn to projects around anxiety and peer connection, and I learned how to design and lead initiatives from scratch—strengthening my skills in outreach, facilitation, and creative problem-solving. It’s been empowering to see how youth-led efforts can truly make a difference. My sense of myself as a peer leader has grown exponentially and I have much more confidence to initiate ideas into action.