(02/18/2022) On the morning of Feb. 18, an asynchronous learning day at the secondary levels, school social workers and psychologists from across the school district teamed up with Thumbs Up, a non-profit organization, to pack “cheer bags.”

Thumbs Up is an organization that embraces all those who are struggling and breaking the stigma around mental health. The cheer bags are a way to brighten someone’s day through a small, random act of kindness. Thumbs Up creates and shares cheer bags for children, teenagers, adults and seniors. 

The cheer bags assembled at Northdale Middle School (NMS) on Feb. 18 will be provided to school social workers across the district to share with students in need. View photos of the group packing cheer bags at NMS. 

Katie Shatusky, executive director of Thumbs Up, was at NMS on Feb. 18 to help prepare some 200 bags that will help the organization share and distribute the resources of over 1,500 cheer bags this year. 

“We started the cheer bag program shortly after Thumbs Up started,” Shatusky said. “It was meant to be a way to help other people who are struggling in the community. If we hear someone is going through a tough time, we can deliver a cheer bag and bring a smile to that person’s face for that day.” 

The cheer bags include a variety of items, such as a teen mindset journal, colored pencils, a bracelet, a gift card for a coffee and a resource card. 

Shannon Lee, an active volunteer for Thumbs Up, enjoyed seeing the group coming together to help get resources in the hands of students in need. 

“This has been our hope,” Lee said. “We know that kids are struggling, especially at school, and to see people come together to get these into the hands of kids — it just feels so good to do good. I am just thrilled that we can take some steps to help our kids.”

Lee added, “Sometimes it's the littlest thing. You just never realize how the smallest act of kindness can make such an incredible impact on people. People may not even realize that someone is thinking about them or notices that they are struggling. That reminder that it’s ok to not be ok.”

To learn more about Thumbs Up, visit thumbsupformentalhealth.org.