Mental health conditions, addiction and trauma can be severely crippling, even to the point of thoughts of suicide. So, if you’re struggling to stay on course on your journey of healing, NoStigmas is here to be ally.
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Events & Activations
Whether this is your first 5k or you're a seasoned pro, these are 5 things that can help anyone have a successful event!
It’s almost here! The NoStigmas Virtual 5K is quickly approaching, and we hope you’re as excited as we are to get active and move toward ending mental health stigma. While you’ve been preparing to participate in the 5K, we developed a list of essential items and helpful tips to help you be ready to go when your day rolls around!
The NoStigmas virtual 5K gives you the freedom to walk, run, roll, swim, or bike the 5K at your own pace. Get up, get active, and get involved no matter how you’d like to participate! Does the distance still seem daunting? Not to worry, we’ve compiled a list of ways to prepare for the 5K so you can feel ready to go on your day!
We’re so excited that you want to take positive action for mental health and suicide awareness. Being an advocate can look many different ways:
Sharing your story, art, video or other creative expression
Joining the team as a volunteer or intern
Submitting a resource to our wellness directory
Getting active on social media
Planning an event or activation
Mostly, taking action with NoStigmas looks like YOU!
In the next section, you’ll learn more about how to use your passion to create change for the cause. There are lots of ways to increase your impact!
Up Next: Customizing Your Action
Start thinking of the things in your everyday life that can be translated into action for your mental health mission!
Just like your mental health journey, your mental health mission is unique. At NoStigmas, we like to foster a “choose your own adventure” approach to advocacy. That means you get to bring your voice to your action and decide exactly what you want to say!
Here are some examples of what people just like you are doing:
Join us for the NoStigmas Virtual 5K or any other race
Bryan is tending the NoStigmas Garden and blogging about it
Lauren is holding a benefit concert for NoStigmas at her high school
Tracy is sharing her favorite books and quotes for the Bookshelf Series
Logan is participating in a 21-day self care challenge and filming it all
Still stuck? Think about the things you’re already doing in your everyday life:
Share how you’re an advocate for yourself or someone else in your life
Use those selfies to create awareness for mental health equality
Ask your favorite restaurant to donate a percentage of sales to NoStigmas
Order some NoStigmas flyers for your office, church or gym
Turn your book club, knitting group or athletic team into a NoStigmas Meetup
If you’d like any help customizing your action, just reply to this email and we’d be happy to get creative with you!
Up Next: Increase Your Reach
Start thinking of who you’d like to invite to join you! Not only will it be more fun, but you’ll be able to do more too.
By now, you probably have a good idea of what type of action you’d like to take. But how can you expand your action to include your community? Well, we find that simply asking usually works best. Seriously, people love to help out great causes. Tell them why you’re passionate about mental health and ask them to join your team!
Here are a few ways to connect with your crew:
Use one of our social media templates to get the word out
How about using one of these email blurbs?
And nothing beats face-2-face or phone conversation
Of course, we are here to support you too. We’d be happy to supply you with more ideas, resources and tools to make it happen!
Up Next: Maximize Your Impact
You can turn any action into fundraiser for NoStigmas. In the next post, we’ll show you how to create a successful fundraising campaign.
We’re so grateful for your efforts and can’t wait to see how we can continue to grow together!
P.S. If you choose to create a page, we’ll send you a series of messages to help you become a fundraising rockstar. And don’t worry, we’ll be here with you every step of the way!
By fundraising, you can help NoStigmas continue sponsoring more positive action for mental health & suicide awareness. This creates a ripple effect which extends beyond your actions and towards a future with NoStigmas.
How do I get started?
Visit our fundraising page to learn how to create your own page and maximize your impact. If you’d like to fundraise in a specific way, let us know! You can also learn how we’ll use the donated dollars to expand our mission of ensuring that no one faces mental illness or suicide alone.
Where does the money go?
In 2015 we served a community of nearly 50,000 individuals on a budget of $55,000. That means it costs just $1.10 per person to run our awareness and support programs. Basically, we know how to stretch a dollar.. and ten cents!
What fundraising tools will I have?
As a public charity, we exist to serve our community and that includes you! We'd be happy to provide a fundraising page, coaching and materials to support your efforts. Just email elizabeth@nostigmas.org with your ideas and let's see what we can create together.