The Jed Foundation (JED) joined forces with the Red Sox Foundation and its New England Service Scholarship recipients at Fenway Park on June 27 to pack 2,000 mental health wellness kits for high school students across Massachusetts.
JED helped the Red Sox Foundation identify schools that would benefit from the kits, and on July 8, JED staff members distributed them to Weymouth High School, North Attleboro High School, and Attleboro High School — three participants in the JED High School program.
The kits included items such as fidget rings, journals, mindfulness or affirmation cards, and ear plugs — tools and resources specifically chosen to help students navigate stress, build resilience, and prioritize their mental wellness. Some even included handwritten notes from the students who put them together. The Red Sox Foundation chose to make the care packages as the community service project for its scholarship recipients.
“Schools are often stretched thin when it comes to funding, so receiving something at no cost — and in such generous quantity — was genuinely exciting for them,” says Krystal Skaggs, MS, LPC, a school mental health specialist at JED.
When students receive the care packages when they return to school in the fall, they’re getting more than just helpful items. They’re receiving a message that their mental health matters, that their community is invested in their success, and that seeking support is a sign of strength, not weakness.
Learn more about JED’s work with high schools.
If you or someone you know needs to talk to someone right now, text, call, or chat 988 for a free confidential conversation with a trained counselor 24/7.
You can also contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.
If this is a medical emergency or if there is immediate danger of harm, call 911 and explain that you need support for a mental health crisis.
