Setting roots: Evansville Boys and Girls Club plants a tree for local youth
EVANSVILLE − The Boys and Girls Club of Evansville is planting new roots as part of a new initiative through the statewide organization.
Rallying more than 160 club locations for a Mental Health Awareness Month day of service, they planted more than 120 trees last week. In Evansville, they chose a small corner of the courtyard facing Lincoln Avenue to plant the new tree.
Each tree represents a part of the whole organization.
"The tree is just a symbol, in recognition of the group of people that got together in 2019, who decided to collaborate as a state," said Andrew Backes, the club's director of major gifts and strategic planning. "All the Boys and Girls Clubs together focus on growing the number of kids we serve and the number of communities that we have clubs in."
Thanks to a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. for $30 million, the non-profit says it has grown its reach to more than 47% of youth within the state with constant goals of reaching other communities.
A small plaque in front of the growing wildfire black gum tree mentions much of the history behind the organization and what this initiative symbolizes in empowering Indiana's youth.
According to the Indiana Youth Institute, almost 38% of youth have felt sad or hopeless for several weeks in a row. Many of these feelings have stopped them from doing their usual activities. With this in mind, the clubs have been adding more mental health resources and programs.
"The pandemic was hard on everybody and we know that there was a learning loss and it also took an emotional toll on people," Backes said. "Just being that extra support as they transition back into normal life and schooling requirements is what we're trying to do."
The Evansville club is among the few that have a full-time social and emotional learning director who is a resource to teach children healthy habits around social and emotional health through song, dance and other creative outlets. Getting the children involved in planting this tree was one of many ideas used to help boost mental morale.
Like the tree that changes leaf colors three times a year, they hope initiatives like this bring change to the community and impact future leaders.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville Boys and Girls Club planting trees for mental health awareness
