Throughout the course of three years, Thriving Minds at Owatonna High School has been able to promote living a healthier lifestyle by supporting the mental health of one another. They are a student lead club that meets twice a month, with the main goal of trying to reduce the stigma about mental health within OHS and even the community. Something that has become more popular within their club has been promoting their club and supporting mental health while at different OHS sporting events.
This idea started with boys soccer, as they started to put on a mental health night in memory of former player Dylan Lauwers. They asked Thriving Minds if they would take over this event and it has become a tradition ever since. At these events, Thriving Minds also brings in and partners with other outside community organizations to host their own tables at the games as well.
Some of the various mental health nights at sporting events that they have been involved in so far this year include volleyball, boys soccer and most recently, girls hockey.
Girls hockey hosted their mental health night on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Thriving Minds leadership team member, Senior Alexie Olson said, “Girls hockey is one of my favorites because I play hockey and I get to share the love about helping others with their mental health with my teammates and friends around me.”
When stopping at their table at the sporting events, their message is clear, as they have various items to grab as one stops by to show what supporting mental health looks like. These items can include positive affirmation bracelets, candy, stars with encouraging messages, stickers, Thriving Minds shirts and magnets with the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline phone number.
While Thriving Minds has many items and goodies to hand out at their table during the games, their message behind it is what truly matters. Olson said, “When helping chair events for sporting events I enjoy seeing the smiles and the joy I can provide from saying the small words ‘you matter’ to every person that walks by.” These small acts of kindness can boost someone’s day and uplift OHS and the community in a simple way.
Thriving Minds Adviser, Mr. William Blechschmidt hopes that students and the community take away an important message. This is what he said about it, “Kids are passionate about mental health. They care deeply about it and they want to advocate for themselves and for their peers or their friends that are struggling and they want others to know that it’s okay to struggle and to go through things, but it’s also important that we get help.”
So far, Thriving Minds is grateful for the support of the community. They hope to partner with other sports in the future as well, but are unsure of what is next to come right now.
The next time there is a mental health night at one of the OHS sporting events, stop and take the time to show support and recognize the importance of advocating for mental health. Even the smallest act of kindness can leave an impact.
