PEABODY — Amber Kiricoples is only 18 years old. Most people who know her see her as an outstanding student-athlete, but she is becoming perhaps even more well-known as a stand-up activist.
Prior to the outbreak in early March, Kiricoples was coming off an MVP basketball season and looking forward to playing a final year on the Tanners lacrosse team with her older sister Olivia.
She was devastated when the news came that, with Massachusetts schools (and the spring sports season) shut down for the rest of the academic year, she would never have that opportunity.
But rather than feel sorry for herself, Kiricoples traded in her sadness for what has turned out to be the first of many initiatives in a campaign to help others struggling with mental health issues during these difficult days. She launched a month-long online campaign to raise money for Mental Health America (MHA), a 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated to addressing mental health before a crisis through screening, advocacy, education and awareness.
For her efforts, Kiricoples is the Essex Media Group’s 2020 Person of the Year for Peabody.
“This was supposed to have been one final season playing with my sister and we were both looking forward to it so much, only to have it taken away,” said Kiricoples. I was really having a hard time dealing with the quarantine and all the things I have lost, but I decided to do something to distract me from focusing only on bad things, so I decided to turn my sad thoughts of losing my favorite season into something good.”
Starting with a modest goal of raising $500 at the onset of the campaign in early May, by the time fundraising wrapped up in early June, Kiricoples had raised more than $1,200.
Kiricoples said mental health is “near and dear to her heart” and that she has friends and family who have had first-hand experiences with depression and other mental illnesses. Motivated by a desire to help eliminate stereotypes about those who struggle with the disease, she knew that with May being Mental Health Awareness Month, the time was right for her to act.
In June, she persuaded her employer, Jim Grieco, owner of Doey’s Ice Cream, to contribute 20 percent of window sales to Mental Health American. The three-day campaign raised $1,051.
But Kiricoples wasn’t done yet.
In October, she and fellow soccer team captain Aja Alimonte co-ordinated a school-wide effort that brought all five Peabody High fall athletic teams together for Peabody Go Green Week. Players on every team accessorized 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.
“We chose green because it is the color of the mental health ribbon,” Kiricoples said.
By December, Kiricoples had raised it up a notch, appearing before the Peabody School Committee to plead her case that the district should adopt a policy that recognizes mental health days as excused absences.
“It’s just that kids are afraid to admit they suffer from anxieties and depression and feel they need to lie about the reasons they aren’t in school,” Kiricoples said. “If the school knows the real reason, maybe they would be able to offer help or services.”
As far as being recognized as Peabody’s Person of the Year, Kiricoples said she was humbled.
“I really had no idea and when I saw who other winners were, I was really stunned that I was chosen,” she said. “I’d like to thank Essex Media Group for choosing me and I am truly honored.”
