Number of Participants: 25
Hours Donated: 20
Value of Time Served: $4,225
Event Amount Raised: $1,500
Event Type: Other
Sport: Other
School: Hendrick Hudson High School
Date: June 3, 2024
Location:
2166 Albany Post Road
Montrose, NY
USA
About:
The Sailors Supporting Sailors club at Hendrick Hudson High School has been busy this year. The purpose of the club is to raise mental health awareness as well as helping our student athletes learn how to deal with stress.
Beginning in the fall, we participated in the club fair at Hen Hud where many student-athletes signed up to be a part in the club.
Throughout the year, the club participated in various activities to help promote mental health and to change the stigma around it.
There were mental health tables set up at various athletic events. We raised suicide awareness at a field hockey game in memory of a former player. We shared information about mental health as well as some of the foundations whose missions are to spread mental health awareness, such as 15 for Life, Morgan’s Message, the harris project-CODA, Peyton’s heart project as well as Minding your Mind.
During various times during the year, we provided a mental health break during lunch periods in the high school. We set up a game day with various board games in the fall, made snowflakes in the winter and made stress balls in the spring.
Also, every month a calendar with random acts of kindness as well as tips to help take a mental health break was created and posted outside the gymnasium and posted on the SSS IG page.
At the end of March, members of the club attended the CODA YOUth Summit hosted by the harris project.
In the spring, we hosted 15 for Life lacrosse games for both the boys and girls teams. We also had Morgan’s Message games for girls lacrosse and varsity softball. Hen Hud has 6 student-athletes who pledged to be a Morgan’s Message ambassador.
Hen Hud also instituted Sailor Check ins for our sports teams to help open up the lines of communication between student-athletes. Our athletic director, Tom Baker, has been instrumental in implementing this program for all of our athletic teams.
May was Mental Health Awareness Month and there were a lot of activities for our students, school wide. During the entire month, mental health tips were shared during each PE class. At the end of the month, Kristin from Minding Your Mind spoke to the entire school about her struggles and how she got help. Jeff from 15 for Life also spoke to the entire school about his family’s struggle with the suicide of his youngest brother who was suffering from depression but never asked for help. Both speakers provided a powerful message to the students. Another activity for May was a survey was sent to the students asking them which of the following have they themselves or someone they know experienced: Depression, Anxiety, Eating Disorders, and Suicide/Suicidal Thoughts. Flags were then placed on the front lawn to represent the results. The month ended with a Positive Post it Locker Project, where members of the club left positive notes on the lockers in the school.
The members of Sailors Supporting Sailors are determined to spread the importance of Mental Health Awareness.
