myPEAK Foundation Startup

When I was teenager, my world was always changing and those times really challenged my mental health. I wrestled with depression; often feeling like no one could possibly understand the emotional battles that were taking place inside my mind. I felt lost. Surfing was my only outlet where I could go to find myself again. It was my medication. Every time I plunged into the ocean, I got a dose of mental clarity that allowed me to find myself again; to smile and to laugh; to once again feel a connection to the world around me; to re-orient myself to the possibilities of the future; to feel alive. My experiences as a teenager inspired my passions for empowering people to overcome their own mental health challenges and a passionate belief in the healing powers of being out on the water

Fast forward 10 years- I am now a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LCMHCA) pursuing my dream to share the amazing sport of surfing with adolescents and young adults who are facing their own challenges with mental health. Surf therapy has been gaining a lot of traction as a promising therapeutic practice for a variety of mental health issues including depression, anxiety, trauma, and developmental disabilities. There is an amazing community of mental health experts, who are also surfers, sharing surf therapy with their local communities across the globe!! 

With that, I am so beyond excited and grateful to introduce the myPEAK Foundation. The myPEAK Foundation (or myPEAK for short) is a non-profit organization that I am working to launch in the spring of 2021. myPEAK's mission is to provide surf therapy programs and create community for adolescents and young adults who are facing their own challenges with mental health.

Would you like to get involved? Good! I NEED YOUR HELP! Launching a business requires funding, funding that this mental health counselor who is just starting his career cannot provide on his own.  The following are all the immediate needs that your contributions will be going towards: 

- Legal consultation   - Filing fees for a 501(c)3 non-profit org.   
- PO Box   - Merchandise that will help raise further funding   
- Marketing    - Equipment  - Website building
- Research (program efficacy research that will support myPEAK in                                    being recognized by the International Surf Therapy Organization) 
-Professional/clinical training 
 
I cannot thank all of you wonderful humans enough for your interest and support in helping to make myPEAK a reality. If you have any questions, advice, concerns, or just want to learn how to be more involved in myPEAK, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. The myPEAK Foundation is looking forward to bringing waves of change into the lives of teens and young adults across eastern North Carolina.