2023 IMPACT REPORT
Healthy Kids
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Healthy Places
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Healthy Futures
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Healthy Kids • Healthy Places • Healthy Futures •
6
New Youth Mental Health Partners
3
National Partners
371
Neighborhood Grantees
Youth Mental Health Emerges as Priority
New grant program builds partnership with six leading organizations
When Rahje Branch went looking for a therapist during her time at Harvard – among the wealthiest universities in the world – she could find only two who looked like her.
As a Black woman, Branch experienced just one of the myriad mental healthcare disparities that young people of color face today, a time complicated by pervasive social media, the lingering effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest that has left a searing mark on children, teens, and young adults.
“If you are a person of color, a young person of color, especially, who’s looking to meet with a therapist who understands your cultural background, your language and some of the intricacies that come with being from your social background, it may be hard to find someone,” said Branch, who formerly worked in the office of the U.S. Surgeon General.
Now, Branch serves as director of families and special projects with The Steve Fund, the nation’s leading organization focused on supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color. It’s one of six organizations to receive funding through Rite Aid Healthy Futures’ new youth mental health initiative, launched in March 2023. Other grantees include Active Minds, The Boys & Girls Clubs of America, The Jed Foundation (JED), McLean Hospital and The Trevor Project.
Another Rite Aid Healthy Futures grantee, JED, also works to change the conversation around youth mental health.
JED is a leading national nonprofit protecting emotional health and preventing suicide for teens and young adults, and is using the Healthy Futures grant funding to partner with the AASA, The School Superintendents Association.
Together, they have invited 18 school districts from across the country to take part in the inaugural pilot of the District Comprehensive Approach (DCA). The transformational program draws on JED’s evidence-based framework that combines expert support, best practices, and data-driven guidance to help PK - 12 school districts protect their students’ mental health and prevent suicide.
In its first year, the DCA will reach 578 schools and 417,726 students. The participating districts are located in 15 states that serve racially, ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse populations of students in rural, suburban, and urban communities.
“Community is an important protective factor in suicide prevention,” Dr. Laura Erickson-Schroth, JED’s Chief Medical Officer, told Healthy Futures earlier this year. “It is proven that when young people feel connected to friends, family, and their campus community, they are less likely to struggle with their mental health. If a student feels disconnected, withdrawn, and unable to make those vital connections to the world around them, they may experience loneliness, depressed mood, and an increased risk of suicide.”
Addressing a Critical Need
Rite Aid Healthy Futures launched its youth mental health grant program during a pivotal time.
Persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness for U.S. high school students increased by about 40 percent between 2009 and 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Then the pandemic struck – concurrent with a string of racial injustices that shook the country and, more personally, the Black and Brown people who saw blatant discrimination and racial violence captured on video again and again.
By 2021, with both the pandemic and ongoing racial injustices roiling, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Children’s Hospital Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry declared youth mental health a national crisis.
“My heart goes out to young people when I think about so much of what they’ve witnessed in a short period of time,” Branch said.
Through its youth mental health initiative, Rite Aid Healthy Futures will support The Steve Fund as it reaches an estimated 3.5 million young people of color and their families. With a focus on New York and California, that new partnership will bring together expert-backed and culturally relevant tools to engage young people of color in storytelling, offering a research-based path to build resiliency, self-esteem, and self-compassion.
“We're hoping to really build partnerships with those who are already working with young people to help strengthen their capacity to deliver mental health support,” Branch said. “We’re hoping to do this not just in isolation and delivering resources to those young people, but also to work alongside their families.”
Increased Attention for Young People of Color
As Branch and The Steve Fund know too well, young people of color already experience heightened levels of trauma and discrimination. They are more likely than their peers to have attempted suicide and are also the least likely to seek support.
The Steve Fund hopes to break down some of those cultural barriers and change the way families of color think about mental health. The approach includes a focus on well-being, and the hope that new outreach efforts can teach young people how to practice self-care and to develop help-seeking behavior.
Along the way, The Steve Fund aims to educate families on warning signs that could constitute a cry for help from young people.
“We know that when families are well, that increases the likelihood of young people being well,” Branch said. “That’s why the partnership element is so important. And that’s why the storytelling piece is also important. There are multiple conversations – whether it’s on social media, whether it’s at the dinner table, or in community happening around mental health.”
Our partners have used funding from Rite Aid Healthy Futures to connect with their communities in new and exciting ways. Here’s what just a few of our Empowering Children partners have done in service of healthy kids, healthy places and, ultimately, healthy futures.
Healthy Kids: The Transformative Power of Girls on the Run
In the face of the escalating youth mental health crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Girls on the Run (GOTR) serves as a source of transformative impact, developing skills in girls to navigate the challenges of today’s complex and demanding world. The surge in anxiety, stress and feelings of isolation has disproportionately affected girls, making them more susceptible to mental health challenges. Even before the pandemic, girls were grappling with issues that impacted their well-being, and the recent increase in psychological distress and emergency department visits further underscores the urgent need for targeted interventions, like Girls on the Run.
As an evidence-based program, Girls on the Run stands as a proven and effective solution to these challenges. By integrating physical activity with an intentionally designed and fun curriculum, GOTR goes beyond traditional interventions, providing a holistic approach to empower girls in grades 3-8. The program addresses critical life skills such as conflict resolution, helping others, and making intentional decisions, equipping girls with tools to navigate the complexities of adolescence and strategies for managing external pressures.
The impact of Girls on the Run extends beyond the program’s duration, with evidence demonstrating its effectiveness in promoting positive youth development outcomes. A University of Minnesota study revealed that
97%
of GOTR participants learned critical life skills, while
94%
of parents considered the program a valuable experience for their daughters.
Girls on the Run International
Colleen Kelly Howard, Executive Director of Girls on the Run Philadelphia, shared, “Now more than ever, girls are faced with messages that test their sense of self-worth and confidence.” GOTR acts as a transformative force, offering girls the resilience to challenge societal expectations and empowering them to embrace their individuality.”
In 2023 and supported by Rite Aid Healthy Futures, Girls on the Run made significant strides in expanding program access to more girls, particularly those from underrepresented communities. The funding exemplified the power of our partnership, amplifying the voices and opportunities for underrepresented participants in communities across a 17-state footprint and to 50 local councils. This support enabled councils to carry out unique and targeted efforts, specifically tailored to serve more diverse participants.
The investment from Rite Aid Healthy Futures has not only allowed for increased and diversified participation but has also accelerated the development and launch of innovative curricula that address the current physical and mental health needs of girls through the development, pilot and launch of "Hello, Superstar!" – the first in a three-part suite of curricula specifically designed to address the challenges faced by girls. This new program goes above and beyond by not only reinforcing the organization’s core values of inclusion, diversity, equity and access, but also enhancing the content to directly address the mental and physical health needs of today's girls.
This updated curriculum reflects the commitment of Girls on the Run to remain at the forefront of youth development programs. By adapting to the changing needs of girls, “Hello, Superstar!” offers girls the tools they need to navigate the challenges of today and build a foundation for a resilient future.
Healthy Places: Finding the Gift of Childhood at Camp
SeriousFun Children’s Network, the leading network of medical specialty camps in the world, got its start when actor and philanthropist Paul Newman founded The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in 1988.
Following the founding of “Hole in the Wall,” Paul and other like-hearted individuals opened similar camps around the world, ultimately joining together to form SeriousFun, which is now made up of 30 camps and programs that provide free recreational experiences to kids living with serious illnesses.
At SeriousFun camps, dedicated teams of medical professionals and camp counselors ensure that every child experiences the magic of activities like swimming, horseback riding, boating, campfires and new friendships – no matter the challenges they face in their day-to-day lives.
For kids and their families living with an illness, constant visits to hospitals and the overwhelming nature of chronic diseases can mean that the joys of childhood are harder to reach than they should be. SeriousFun helps by providing life-changing experiences, for both kids and parents, in safe, supportive environments.
Rite Aid Healthy Futures funding supports a robust package of strategies and programs focused on health and wellness, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) — all to positively impact the lives and futures of children with serious medical conditions.
SeriousFun Children’s Network.
Healthy Futures: EmbraceRace Meets Growing Demand
Introducing kids to topics like race and its impact can be a tricky task. When Andrew Grant-Thomas and his partner, Melissa Giraud, couldn’t find the materials and community they needed to help guide their parenting around race, they took matters into their own hands. The result was EmbraceRace, an organization that supports parents, educators and other caregivers by creating and curating tools, resources, spaces and networks that help nurture kids who are thoughtful, informed and brave about race.
EmbraceRace materials are great for both kids and adults and include everything from children’s book lists and web articles to webinars and action guides. Their Color-Brave Caregiver Framework and associated guides provide a rich, evidence-based blueprint for adults looking to help the children they love navigate issues of race in healthy, affirmative ways.
The demand for EmbraceRace’s work is only growing. In 2022 alone, EmbraceRace saw a 133% increase in its community of parents and educators for young children of color, and over 400 individuals assisted in piloting new content and programs. The continued partnership with Rite Aid Healthy Futures has helped EmbraceRace expand its core team and programming, meaning more resources headed toward families and kids that needed them in 2023.
EmbraceRace.
A Network of Neighborhood Grants
In addition to its national partners, Rite Aid Healthy Futures proudly supports over 370 grassroots organizations working to uplift kids and help them fulfill their dreams.
Neighborhood Grant organizations provide a sense of belonging and hope for children and include food banks, foster care shelters, educational centers, therapeutic care facilities, homeless shelters and more.
Neighborhood Homework House, Azusa, California.