GJHS club organizes ‘You Matter’ game

BY JOSHUA BYERS

JBYERS@TRIBDEM.COM

When the Greater Johnstown High School boys basketball team takes on Central Cambria High School’s Red Devils at 7:15 p.m. Friday, their fellow students will be there not only to cheer them on but also to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention.

The contest is Greater Johnstown Aevidum club’s second “You Matter” event at the high school, and it will feature commemorative T-shirts and information from local agencies about student struggles.

“This is about spreading the message of Aevidum – ‘I’ve got your back’ – and making sure everyone knows that no matter how hard today is, keep going. You all matter,” club adviser and school board member Missy Spaugy said.

Her daughter, Lexi Rogers, brought the club to the school in 2015, and her youngest daughter, Kylee Rogers, now participates with the group.

The mental health-themed game started last year through the efforts of club member Donte Tisinger and his peers as a way to bring attention to the group’s activities.

Fiona Stuart, Aevidum president, said the opportunity to “bring our message and the sentiment of ‘You Matter’ to something as big as a basketball game and on senior night” is amazing.

“I think it’s very important for the message to be spread,” she said. “It’s important that everybody knows you matter.”

Stuart, a senior, has participated with Aevidum for the past four years, and described the group’s work as important for her and classmate club secretary Gretchen Miller.

Miller said she’s “really excited for this game” and is looking forward to working with Central Cambria’s students to promote the positive messaging.

All of this will be commemorated with a teal shirt featuring the Trojan and Red Devil logos, as well as a purple handprint and the 988 Lifeline number that can be called or texted for suicide prevention and mental health assistance.

“The shirts have both teams playing in that game, represented to show that despite all of the competition, in the end we are all human and we all matter,” Spaugy said.

Representatives from Victim Services, Alternative Community Resource Program and Communities in Schools of Pennsylvania will have tables set up Friday outside the gymnasium to share information as well.

Rebecca Castiglione, Greater Johnstown federal programs and student services coordinator, said the game and messaging is “critical” to share.

“There’s nothing more important to me than mental health,” she said. “I think (Aevidum is) one of the most important clubs here in the school.”

Joshua Byers can be reached at 814532-5054. Follow him on Twitter @Journo_ Josh.

“It’s important that everybody knows you matter.”

FIONA STUART, AEVIDUM PRESIDENT