On Sunday January 10th, Our Minds Matter hosted its Winter Leadership Training where over 75 students from 45 schools across the country joined to learn about how they can end the stigma against mental health in their school environments.
A panel of student leaders presented tips, tricks, and challenges on the following topics: student recruitment, leveraging OMM resources, making online meetings interactive, school-wide campaigns, and leadership transition planning. OMM staff then worked with student leaders to boost their leadership and club management skills. The training opened with a reflection exercise on what teens hoped for in 2021 and ended with a mindfulness exercise on compassion. It was powerful to learn what student leaders are hopeful for in 2021:
- To be someone people can talk to in my community.
- To bridge divides between people and communities.
- To normalize the discussion of mental health.
- To create a community for everyone to feel safe and welcome.
- To build a life where I feel I made a difference.
- To be a hotline for someone in need.
- To leave behind a club that can make an even more long lasting impact.
Student leaders, the future is looking bright because of you! We look forward to seeing you in March to hear about the fruits of labor and to provide you with even more strategies to make your clubs great. See you soon!