BELLAIRE • MEMORIAL • RIVER OAKS • TANGLEWOOD • WEST UNIVERSITY

Hap-PEA: Spreading the joy of movement

By Siena Bush, age 17 and Mahika Joshi, age 15 | April 27, 2024

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HEALTHY HABITS DeBakey sophomore Mahika Joshi (left) and junior Siena Bush (right) co-founded the nonprofit PEA. PEA (Personal Effectiveness Association) aims to educate adolescents and teens about how exercise and nutrition can enrich people’s lives and promotes those habits through events like Yoga in the Park.

As high schoolers, we've noticed limited opportunities for teenagers to address anxieties and everyday worries. So, we decided to create a safe environment where teens could exercise and communicate with one another.

Personal Effectiveness Association (PEA) is a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization designed to support and improve mental health through exercise. Whether you are an athlete or have never been to the gym, this is the place for you. Our mission is to expose teens to fitness, help teens better their mental health through exercise and nutrition, and spread awareness of medical literature that physical activity increases self-esteem, reduces anxiety, improves mood, and releases hormones. Most importantly, we want to create healthy long-lasting habits (while having fun).

We run group exercises, lead group therapy sessions, offer nutritional and fitness advice, and create a community of teens to help one another. Our events include a weekly rotation of yoga, body weight exercises, and running, with many special events along the way.

As we celebrate our six-month anniversary, we are proud of our accomplishments and hope to achieve even more. Through partnerships with school running clubs, nutritional awareness teams, and even the Hindu Worship Society, we've widened our reach and have inspired countless individuals to embrace healthier lifestyles and prioritize mental health. We envision bringing our mission to more communities. We hope to create a platform where everyone, regardless of background or location, can access resources to pursue their fitness and mental health goals.

Establishing our nonprofit taught us about more than just charity work. We gained insight into community dynamics, entrepreneurship, and effective marketing strategies. Interacting with diverse individuals built our empathy and communication skills. Overall, our nonprofit journey has been a transformative experience, fostering personal and professional growth for ourselves and the communities we serve.

Editor’s note: Check out more events on Instagram @pea.exercisetherapy and website happypea.org.

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