From left: KyleCares President/Co-Founder Jim Johnson, KyleCares Co-Founder Sue Johnson, KP Junior Matt Kelley, KP Senior Arielle Feuer, KP Class of 2020 graduate Madison Kelley, KP Active Minds Adviser Marylyn Callanan and Director of Wellness/Active Minds Adviser Dot Pearl. (Photo courtesy King Philip Regional High School)
WRENTHAM — Superintendent Paul Zinni and Director of Wellness Dot Pearl are pleased to announce that King Philip Regional High School has received a grant from the KyleCares Foundation to establish a student-led Active Minds chapter.
On Monday, Aug. 2, KyleCares President/Co-Founder Jim Johnson and Co-Founder Sue Johnson visited King Philip Regional High School to present a grant to King Philip student leads — junior Matt Kelley, senior Arielle Fueur, and Class of 2020 graduate Madison Kelley — to be used to help establish a KP Active Minds chapter. Active Minds, a national non-profit organization supporting mental health awareness and education for young adults, has over 700 chapters at colleges and high schools to help change the conversation around mental health.
The KyleCares grant award will support King Philip students in their efforts to establish an Active Minds chapter to engage other students and staff in learning about mental health, supporting one another and seeking help.
“We have a group of dedicated students who are eager to open up and grow communication efforts regarding mental health and establish wellness resources for students returning to school this fall,” Director Pearl said. “With this generous grant from the KyleCares Foundation, these students will be able to further enhance their efforts by formally establishing an Active Mind chapter.”
With the support of Principal Dr. Lisa Mobley, Director of Wellness Pearl and Special Educator Marylyn Callanan, both of whom will serve as co-advisers, surveyed high school students to gauge interest in an Active Minds chapter at King Philip Regional High School. Approximately 40 students expressed interest in learning more about the organization at the time of the survey.
During springtime meetings with those who showed interest, students expressed their commitment to raising awareness, reducing stigma and increasing help-seeking among their peers. Following informational meetings with KyleCares President/Co-Founder Johnson and an Active Minds chapter coordinator, King Philip students applied and were approved to become a King Philip Regional High School Active Minds Chapter.
“Active Minds Chapters help elevate students’ voices, making them part of the solution to improving a school’s culture around mental health,” KyleCares President/Co-Founder Jim Johnson said. “Through this grant, King Philip is now the sixth high school or college in Massachusetts that KyleCares has assisted to start a new student-led chapter in the past two years, and we look forward to seeing the chapter grow and positively impact the student body when school resumes this fall.”
The KyleCares Foundation assists high schools and colleges in implementing mental health awareness and suicide prevention programs through financial support and facilitation of partnerships with leading organizations. The King Philip Regional School District has partnered with the foundation since 2019 to host parent/caregiver wellness education programs, provide staff training and connect the King Philip community with other wellness programs.
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