Racing for Wellness Returns to Memorial

From bake sales to movie nights, teams of high school students have been brainstorming and organizing various fundraisers in a race to raise as much money as possible in a 10-week period. Now, the teams are on their last lap with a week left to go until the competition ends on Dec. 13. 

All of their efforts are for Racing for Wellness, a youth-based initiative led by The Mental Health Society to fundraise money for its mission of providing students across SBISD with therapy cost assistance. 

“I’m excited that the community seems passionate about it,” TMHS Executive Director and Memorial AP Psychology teacher Jenna Rosen, Ph.D., said. “[The fact] that people are even having these conversations [is] so great.”

Racing for Wellness gives students a unique opportunity to orchestrate original events and help their peers in the process. The initiative launched last April, beginning with just six teams and collecting over $35,000. Now, both numbers have more than doubled: the Fall 2024 race has 16 teams who have jointly raised over $83,000 so far. Participants from Memorial and other schools have gotten to see the payoff of their efforts in real-time. 

“[Last year], a woman told me how she lost her daughter to mental health struggles and that she really appreciated what my team was doing,” junior Thalie Simeonidis, a participant in last year’s race, said. “That conversation showed me that what we were doing with Racing for Wellness was making a real difference in people’s lives.” 
The Echo Team is one of the many dedicated groups taking part in Racing for Wellness. On Nov. 2, they hosted their own volleyball tournament and sold baked goods. The event successfully raised over $400 for TMHS.

“Mental health is a big part of my life, and to know that certain people are not able to access the mental health care they need drives me to take action,” junior Chanel Wei, leader of the Echo Team, said. 

Made up entirely of Memorial students, The Sensible Stangs have been working hard to reach their goal of $10,000, an amount they have already surpassed following the successes of their numerous profit shares and creative fundraisers. 

“Our biggest event was a bingo night where we sold tickets for a fun night of bingo, food and raffles,” junior Kelsy Donovan, member of the Sensible Stangs, said. “It was a lot of work, but it was very rewarding to see the community come together to support an extremely important cause.”

Currently, Racing for Wellness has generated enough profits for TMHS and its partner Pinkerton Psychotherapy to provide 166 students with therapy for six months; any student can apply for financial assistance through the form on their website.

“It takes everything just to get through the school day and homework and grades,” Rosen said. “Then to also have to fight for your mental health? I think anything we can do to make that easier is going to help kids be more successful.”