- Build a sense of community by reminding students that everyone faces challenges and can support each other
- Learn how to ask for help and in a low-stakes setting
- Explore the benefits of sharing struggles with peers instead of trying to face them alone
- Start by asking students, “Have you ever carried a really heavy backpack all day? How did it feel?” Discuss how struggles in life can feel like that—draining, exhausting, and difficult to manage alone.
- Give each student a notecard and have them write down a common struggle (or weight) teens face (e.g., stress about grades, friendship or relationship conflicts, family issues, mental health struggles). They don’t have to write personal experiences—just general ones.
- Have teens go around and share one thing they wrote. As each student shares what they wrote, place a heavy object in the backpack to represent the weight of those struggles. Teens can pass if they don’t feel comfortable sharing aloud.
- Ask for a volunteer to carry the backpack and walk across the room. Ask them how it feels. If it’s too heavy, let them express their frustration. Allow others to try carrying the full backpack to understand the burden.
- Now, tell the volunteer that it’s time to ask for help. They must verbally ask for help or support. If they don’t know what to say, offer a few options:
- “Can someone help me?”
- “I don’t think I can do this by myself. Can someone help?”
- “I need help.”
- Now, tell the volunteer that it’s time to ask for help. They must verbally ask for help or support. If they don’t know what to say, offer a few options:
- When they do, invite the other students to volunteer to step in and take out one weight at a time. They must say something encouraging as they take a weight (e.g., “I’ve got your back,” “You’re not alone,” “I can help with this“).
- Check out the facilitator notes for some tips on making sure everyone feels included!
- Continue until the backpack is almost empty and the original student and volunteers are all carrying an equal load. Have them carry the weights together across the room.
- Applaud everyone who participated and prepare to move into the discussion portion. As a seque, you can say: “Everyone carries struggles, but when we ask for help, others can step in and lighten the load. Asking for help isn’t a putting a burden on someone else—it’s how we get through life together.”
- How did it feel to carry everything alone?
- How did it feel to ask for help? Why can this be difficult sometimes?
- How did it feel when carrying the weights together?
- How does this connect to real life? Can you name an example of a time you needed to ask for help and let someone carry the weight with you?
- What are ways we can help each other when things feel emotionally heavy?
- If you have a really large group, you can split them in two and have both groups work through this activity simultaneously.
- Try to make sure that there are enough weights for all students to volunteer and do the work together. If there are more students than weights, the remaining students can simply offer verbal support.
- Similarly, if someone is not physically able to carry one of the objects or move across the room, they can offer verbal support and cheer the group on.