The #Mystory program is dedicated to educating people about the lives and hardships of immigrants and refugees. By sharing their stories, we are able to reduce stigma and help others become more open-minded about the immigrant/refugee process. This creates a sense of unity and belonging among people, especially if they do not share the same culture, background, or belief. That is our goal: to unite people with a story.
To become a volunteer, they must be in the 12-20 year old age range. They must be passionate about multicultural issues, responsible, and willing to spend time on this program.
This is a one year program and it is divided into two semesters. In the first semester, an individual will undergo "mental health ambassador training". Through this, they will be able to gain knowledge and to give insight into certain mental health topics through a series of 5-11 training sessions. After the first semester, they will have the option to either, create their own project with the help of a mentor, or join the #MyStory program. If they choose to pursue the #MyStory program, they will become an interviewer. They will then speak to an immigrant we will connect them with. They will collect their story and, enlisting the help of our photographer, they will collect photographs that encompass that individual's story.
An individual may either enter their own project in the Youth Achievement Challenge, or they may enter their contribution in the #MyStory project. Either way, the winners of this competition will receive a partial college scholarship.
As a volunteer, they will get a Mental Health Ambassador certificate from Bridges from Borders, an opportunity to win a partial college scholarship, volunteer hours, professional references valuable for college applications, public speaking / leadership experience, and opportunities to participate and/or initiate community-wide programs.
If you are interested in this, please go to https://bridgesfromborders.org/mental-health-ambassador-program to sign up as a mental health ambassador.
