Throughout the history of RM, sports have been an integral part of the school community. Athletes undergo a lot of pressure in order to perform their best when representing their school, and this can take a toll on their mental health. To cope with this stress, RM’s Morgan’s Message Club prioritizes mental health and works to create a community among all athletes.
Morgan’s Message is a non-profit national organization committed to prioritizing mental health in sports. “It was started because a girl named Morgan Rogers from Duke Lacrosse ended up taking her life because she felt so isolated on her team,” senior Miriam D’Albora said. D’Albora is vice president of Morgan’s Message at Richard Montgomery, one of the organization’s many chapters across the country.
The RM chapter was very recently formed; the president and founder, senior Oriana DeFazio, will graduate this year. “I wanted to start the club because I’ve had my own experiences with mental problems, especially in sports, and that feeling of isolation, that nobody understands you or knows what’s going on…I wanted to make sure other people felt less alone,” DeFazio said. Morgan’s Message prioritizes mental health in not just athletes, but all students.
The club is dedicated to upholding the life and legacy of Rogers, doing so through various activities. “We host dedication games where a sport will dedicate its game to the life and legacy of Morgan Rogers,” DeFazio said. These dedication games intend to spread awareness for student-athlete mental health in a public forum, and are one of the most common ways that high school and college chapters spread advocacy. In addition, the chapter has educational meetings twice a month that focus on destigmatizing mental health. Nationally, Morgan’s Message has a mission to normalize mental health, ensuring it receives the same level of treatment and priority as physical health. In order to eliminate the stigma of mental health, another goal of RM’s chapter is to raise money to donate towards Morgan’s Message to spread advocacy further.
Morgan’s Message aims to bond student communities together. In order to empower the normalization of mental health, the club encourages peer-to-peer communication and creates safe spaces to normalize conversations surrounding mental health. In the RM community, Morgan’s Message bonds student athletes together through activities and crafts. “I hope that more people get to learn about it and find out that we have this safe space at RM.” DeFazio said.
According to the national website, morgansmessage.org, the organization wants to help athletes recognize that they can seek help. “As an athlete, there is no shame in seeking physical healthcare–the same should be true for mental healthcare,” the website states.
Although RM’s Morgan’s Message founder and leadership leave in May, the seniors have high hopes for the club after their departure. “We have to inspire the next generation of leadership,” DeFazio said.
The leadership considers this club incredibly important to have in academic and athletic spaces. “To make sure that no one feels alone, especially when dealing with an injury in sports, because it can be so hard, and just making sure that everyone has better mental health,” D’Albora said.
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