Students and community members gathered at Morehouse Park in Owatonna on May 17 for the Thriving Minds +YOLO Mental Health Walk, an event focused on spreading awareness about mental health and supporting those who may be struggling.
The walk, organized by the student-led group Thriving Minds, was previously known as the Dylan Lauwers Memorial Walk. This year, organizers decided to rename the event to represent the group’s broader mission of promoting mental health awareness throughout the community. Although the walk was originally scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., incoming rainstorms forced organizers to move the start time up to 6:00 p.m. Even in the poor weather, more than 100 students and community members attended the event.
Preparing for the walk took weeks of planning and coordination from both students and community organizations. Organizers worked to reserve spaces, communicate with local partners and spread awareness about the event across the community and social media platforms.
“There was lots to do with reserving spaces and reaching out to the community to get partners. My job was mostly social media and spreading the word,” said Thriving Minds leadership team member, senior Mia Armstrong.
The event was organized in partnership with YOLO, a local youth organization that works to support students and encourage positive mental health conversations. Members from both groups met several times leading up to the walk to discuss goals, attendance and ways to make the event meaningful for participants.
“The mental health walk went really well. It was the third annual walk, and although it rained we had over 100 students and community members attend. My involvement was through YOLO, and we had several meetings discussing the walk and our hopes for it,” said senior Naomie Delarosa.
The walk continued to show the importance of mental health awareness in the Owatonna community while giving students an opportunity to come together, support one another and encourage open conversations about mental health.
