At Manheim Township High School, there are many clubs to get involved in, one of those being Morgan’s Message. This club focuses on supporting athletes struggling with mental health and strives to spread awareness that it is okay not to be okay. The adviser is Mrs. Hoover, who has assistance with the organization of this club from four leaders: junior Emerson Hardy, junior Myla Sentz, senior Olivia Spearing and sophomore Charlotte Underwood. Morgan’s Message meets during club periods and holds bake sales at sporting events to help raise money for their cause.
Spearing is president of Morgan’s Message. To summarize her role, she is a co-adviser. Spearing makes sure that all the events are scheduled and everything is ready for the dedication games and club meetings. The other leadership positions help her with these tasks as well.
Underwood’s role in Morgan’s Message is secretary. She is responsible for taking notes, providing ideas and spreading word about the club to get more people involved. She also has a large role as she has been giving speeches regarding Morgan’s Message at each game. These speeches include what the club is about and occasionally if there was any student athlete who has passed due to mental health struggles, Underwood would include a section dedicated to them.
Morgan’s Message has multiple Instagram pages and a website that is easily accessible. MTHS puts a lot of effort into the club by hosting bake sales at athletic events where people can also find information about the club. Underwood gives her speech regarding the message of the club at these bake sales.
“Morgan’s Message strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health in student athletes,” said Underwood.
There is a lot of pressure surrounding athletes when the work load begins to be too much. Trying to balance school, sports and life can be the start of mental health problems so this is an issue that Morgan’s Message tries to spread more awareness about.
“We show them that they are not alone, we normalize the conversation of mental health, encourage them to seek help and we let them know that they should treat their mental health just as much as they do their physical health,” said Underwood.
The goal of Morgan’s Message is to normalize mental health between student athletes and let them know they are not alone. This can be a tough topic to discuss but that is why this club is here and to help anyone struggling.
“I personally always make it known that if someone is struggling with their mental health, talking about it is so strong and doesn’t make you feel weak. In fact it’s more strong and powerful to talk about it,” Spearing said.
It is crucial to the club that if you feel you are struggling and need help, do not be afraid to reach out. This can be a hard thing to do, but Spearing believes it shows true courage for a person to do so.
“My favorite thing about Morgan’s Message is the group we have created to help spread the word about it…the bigger the group, the more people we can help,” said Underwood.
Underwood strongly believes that the group involved in this club is what keeps the whole thing running. Without everyone’s help it would be even harder to spread the word about the club and get more people involved.
“Mental health tends to get pushed to the side with sports. So going to games and telling athletes and their friends and family about the mission helps to educate everyone about this issue,” said Spearing.
Spearing’s favorite part about Morgan’s Message is the whole mission of the club in general. She loves that as president, she gets the opportunity to spread the word about mental health and making sure no one is alone.
“Your life will not always be amazing. There will be bumps and bruises but there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to keep going,” Underwood said.
Underwood’s advice to those struggling with mental health focuses on the fact that in order for your life to go up, it must go down at some points. Spearing added that it is okay to speak up if you are struggling. It is a strong trait to be able to do so but that is why there are so many people in this school to help, including the club Morgan’s Message.
