A pair of Peabody girls senior soccer captains are doing what they can to raise awareness of the importance of mental health.
Amber Kiricoples and Aja Alimonti are the brains behind Peabody High’s Mental Health America (MHA) Peabody Go Green Week.
The campaign kicks off Saturday on World Mental Health Day with an aggressive social media blitz.
“We are going to flood Twitter and Facebook and Instagram with tons of photos and graphics with green ribbons, which is the color for mental health,” said Kiricoples. “I feel like I am seeing, every day, stories detailing multiple pieces of evidence and research showing that mental health is getting worse due to isolation, fear about COVID-19, fear about losing jobs, and there is a rising trend in depression and substance abuse.
“That’s why we felt we need to do something to help, because we feel these things, too.”
Starting Tuesday with the girls soccer team’s home opener against Swampscott and concluding Saturday with the cross country team’s meet against Marblehead, five Tanner teams will come together and do their best to heighten awareness of mental illness by accessorizing their uniforms with all things green, a color symbolizing the positive impact that exposure to green space has on children’s mental health and well-being.
From green headbands and pre-wrap to socks adorned with green tape and captains wearing green captains’ armbands on their arms, Peabody athletes will be trading their Tanner trademark blue for green.
Even a couple of traditional Northeastern Conference rivals are supporting the cause.
“Everyone all week will be wearing something green, even Danvers and Beverly, that’s the plan,” Kiricoples said. “My family, like so many others, have struggled with issues like depression and other mental illnesses. Aja has seen how this has impacted me and has seen it all first-hand, so she came up with the idea to make it a DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) project, knowing how important the issue is, not just for me, but for everyone.”
Kiricoples is hopeful people will share their photos and stories on social media, which she believes will help young people open up about their struggles.
Alimonti said the initiative was a no-brainer, considering the timing of World Mental Health Day.
“We were sitting in Mr. (Lenny) Brand’s DECA class and it just dawned on us that this would be a perfect way to do something Saturday to reach out to people our age who are struggling,” Alimonti said. “We need people to hear others’ stories so they know that someone can always be there for you if we knew these people cannot escape their own minds.”
Brand, who is co-advisor of DECA with Courtney Zecha, believes there are multiple benefits to be gained from Go Green Week.
“It’s a powerful subject and DECA projects always boost confidence and self-esteem,” he said. “It takes a lot of courage to post stories like this and I feel that this will impact not just Peabody, but other communities. Aja and Amber are special people, two real go-getters, and I feel that goes far beyond just students.”
Alimonti said the original plan was to dedicate a single day to the cause, but expanded it to a week after reaching out to Athletic Director Bob Bua.
“He said it was a great idea and knowing the week had all home games, encouraged us to dedicate a whole week,” Alimonti said. “We thought last spring that we’d be out of school for just a couple of weeks and losing sports was really hard. Sports is what gets you out of bed to go to school and do what you love. We protested all summer to get a fall sports season as we needed some type of normalcy, not just for the game, but to feel good about yourself.”
Peabody has had a tremendous history of success at DECA, reaching nationals every year but one over the last 18 years, according to Brand.
While Alimonti is hopeful to return to nationals in Anaheim in 2021, her focus is on doing what she can to help others.
“Amber and I will put everything into our project so hopefully we can go far, but the reality is that’s not as important when you consider how many people need help,” she said. “If we can help just one person, I’d trade that in any day. All we care about is putting smiles on faces.”
