Oh, don't know if I have a favorite I think each stomper has such its own personality, which is kind of silly to say, considering that it's just a sculpture made from They're the perfect social lubri for getting conversations going.

It is a really nice artistic expressio of something that we all deal wi something that everyone carries every single day.

Your own inner turmoil and battl My older sister, Jana, faced a lot of different challen in her life.

Mental health wasn't something that was talked a lot about as a family, and we didn't always know how to support her or engage in these types of conv After Jana died, I wanted to do something that c the conversations around mental I came up with the ide for the Jana Marie Foundation.

One of our main missions is being a resource for parents and caregivers and educators about mental healt and suicide prevention.

It's not always easy to talk about mental health.

So when we were thinking about w that we could use art as a vehicl in sparking those conversations, we came up with the idea that w make a sculpture from recycled s symbolizing stamping out the sti that often surrounds mental and emotional health.

I think the Stompers Project is one of the genius pro of the Jana Marie Foundation.

The project you're working on buildin this sculpture is an excuse in so many ways to bring you togeth and to talk about issues that may be troubling you or tha you know, are difficult issues in the comm that you'd like to help with.

Anxiety, depression, bipolar, suicidal ideation, whatever it happens to be.

It may be specific to an individ but in a community that affects hundreds perhaps thousands of individuals So the Stompers Projec can bring a community together.

Get them engaged in something that's creative, that's fun, that allows them to interact, to make connections, to feel a sense of accomplishmen The Stompers Project is using wh about human nature in a brilliant kind of way.

For our Stompers to be born we start working with an organiz We'll have some planning meeting really focusing on what their hope and their goals and we will then develop a curriculu using evidence-based practices.

And then we'll deliver that to a group of individuals to learn about the resources that are available.

And then they'll get to decorat a piece of deconstructed sneaker And tha will become a little bit of thei as it relates to the topic that we're discussing.

Every stomper is unique, twist i or the story it tells, and our that's being told is the story o So our Stompers name is Serve.

It was made by those men and wo and those children of the fallen soldiers, those KIA or those who had taken their own So it was really nice way of phy being able to release that emotion for these families.

It was kind of a moment of cath to cut up these shoes, to stomp the stigma of self-harm stuff self-ideation not being talked a When people arrive here, they're very surprised to learn about its story.

It's a very uniting thing, being able to interact with that story very personally and at your own level.

Whether you're in uniform or on the battlefield of your mind is equal to all.

What's reall nice is that Marisa has incorpor the QR codes for those mental h resources on the Stomper labels.

That way, when you're taking a you can tap that QR code in the and it brings up those resource and nobody else around you knows going to know that perhaps the you're taking the photo is you n Or maybe somebody in your family needs help.

And so it's a fantastic passive of having a very active conversa be started.

Consuelo is being created with the Center for Performing A at Penn State.

About a decade ago, we did one of our first Stomper study here at Mount Nittany Midd So it's really exciting being a to be back in the middle school.

And Im really excited to be abl to have you all participate in designing this Stomper to he about that importance of mental The Center for Performing Art really wanted to have something created by the community and that helps to educate about that the theater can really help with building connection, as well as community healin that often takes place through t So based on what you just discu in your group, what are some way that being creative can help us with each other with other peopl I think when you share the wa that you're creative with someon it can hel you really connect.

Mmhmm.

Absol We really stress, too, that it' always about that finished produ but it's the process of being a to engage in art in a way that a to process through our differen and different thoughts that we h So, you know, the final product looks like they all are just painting these little piec of what's going to be this giant So it's pretty cool.

The students are really excited about making The Stomper and having their voices heard a little bit.

It's not just like here let's talk about your mental hea let's do something you lov and have conversations at the sa It's really fun just watching th connect, getting to talk and play together.

It's tough to be a teenager and a middle schooler, especially the last few years, coming out of Covid and things l So to be able to help with that and to like bridge that gap through hig school is really a lot of fun.

After the session, the students share the that they create with their fami and then also share abou what they learned with that stom So that conversation then is go from out of the classroom, right other family members and communi that might be touched by these t When I was a child, I had struggles with anxiety and depression, and the answer was to be found i You didn't have feelings.

You certainly didn't have negat feelings or feelings of depressi or weakness.

But over the years, I've seen an easing up of our ab to have conversations around mental health.

Mental health issues affect near of the global population at some point by age 40.

Depression and anxiety... Now, I think we are not nearly a ashamed to acknowledge that mental illness is real.

And I think the more of us that just keep walking through and saying, no, let's talk about It's just going to get easier an I think the willingness to have the conversation has changed, and the best way to sometimes de it is to just talk about it.

And by having those resource being brought by Marisa and the Marie Foundation people know how to speak up and and do so from a place of kindne My name is [inaudible] and I, li We know that support networks are so incredibly importan for our mental health and wellne And sometimes in the day to day we forget about making time for those opportunities.

And the Stomper Project allows us that platform.

I think organizations like the J Marie Foundation are reflective of the community that they serve, and I think out of a tragic mome they have made suc a beautiful contribution to the You know how many people are st because the work that they do.

I think Marisa and the people that support that work understan the value of community and of community engagement, particularly if you're trying t a problem that affects the commu I think Jana would have loved the Stompers Project.

I think that the proces of the creation of the Stomper would have been healing for her.

You know it takes a village for all of us and I hope that our community can continue talking about menta and really build those spaces where we can focus on our own self-care and well-being, and the self-care and well-being for others in our community.