Name: Nisha Vishag

What is the name of your TAC project?

Teens For Teens (T4T) – a non profit organization that aims to promote mental wellbeing and awareness of mental health issues in teenagers.

Number impacted?

95+ people who took a #Stigmafree pledge through a social media campaign.

$588 raised for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) towards combating mental health stigma.

25+ teens who attended a talk on mental health awareness.

What life-long lesson have you learned from your TAC project?

I have developed skills in leadership, website design, fundraising, and organizing events. However, I have also learned important lessons about affecting change in the community. When my TAC started, it was relatively small. But as I kept working on it and developing it, it began to become something bigger than I had thought it would be. I learned that if you put enough effort and willpower into something, you can achieve great things with long-lasting impacts. I also learned that if you put your effort into something that you truly care about, every bit of “work” that you do related to it will feel more like a fun opportunity and less like “work.”

What is the most unexpected or surprising or interesting thing that happened during or as a result of your TAC journey?

I was able to meet and connect with some really great people, and I also learned so much about mental health and wellbeing. I think one of the more surprising things was learning so much about mental health and becoming more aware of the stigma related to mental wellbeing. This awareness is what I really wanted to spread to others, and I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to do that through organizing events and fundraisers.

Did you face any challenges in executing your TAC in the face of COVID-19? If so, how did you adapt to the new reality of the pandemic?

I had a lot of challenges due to COVID-19. Some of the main ones were re-learning how to organize events (virtually), and spreading the word about my TAC. I was able to adapt to the pandemic by taking to social media as a way to spread the word about my TAC and events. I was also able to contact other organizations in order to reach a wider audience for my events and host them virtually.

Links:

Fundraiser: https://donate.nami.org/fundraiser/3156824

T4T Website: http://t4tmh.weebly.com/