PEABODY — Prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Peabody High junior Amber Kiricoples was coming off an MVP basketball season and looking forward to playing a final year on the Tanners lacrosse team with her older sister Olivia, a senior, this spring.
She was devastated when the news came that, with Massachusetts schools (and the spring sports season) shut down for the rest of the academic year, she would never have that opportunity.
But rather than feel sorry for herself, Kiricoples decided to trade in her sadness for a good deed in her campaign to help others struggling with mental health issues during the difficult days of the coronavirus pandemic. She launched an online fundraising campaign to raise money for Mental Health America (MHA), a 501(c)(3) organization, dedicated to addressing mental health before a crisis through screening, advocacy, education and awareness.
Since starting the campaign on May 1 with a modest goal of raising $500, Kiricoples has raised more than $1,200 in just five days in the month-long campaign, which ends June 1.
“This was supposed to have been one final season playing with my sister and we were both looking forward to it so much, only to have it taken away,” said Kiricoples. “I want to play lacrosse in college, so this was the time when coaches could watch me play and that was taken away. I was really having a hard time dealing with the quarantine and all the things I have lost, but I decided to do something to distract me from focusing only on bad things, so I decided to turn my sad thoughts of losing my favorite season into something good.”
Kiricoples said mental health is “near and dear to her heart” and that she has friends and family who have had first-hand experiences with depression and other mental illnesses. Motivated by a desire to help eliminate stereotypes about those who struggle with the disease, she knew that with May being Mental Health Awareness Month, the time was right for her to act.
“Most people have no idea that May is Mental Health Awareness Month,” she said. “I bet more people know it’s National Pet Week this week than know it’s Mental Health Month, so I felt I had to do something. I’ve always had a drive to do something special and this whole virus has made it even harder for people to cope with mental illness.”
Kiricoples went onto the MHA website and researched her volunteer options. She decided to start a fundraising page after discussing the matter with her mother, Linda, and set about aggressively marketing her campaign through social media.
“They (MHA) set my goal at $250, but I asked my mother if she thought I could raise $500,” said Kiricoples, a three-sport athlete (soccer, basketball and lacrosse) and two-time captain (soccer and basketball) at Peabody High. “I reached my goal in two hours.”
Kiricoples raised her target to $1,000 and hit that number after two more days. She said much of the money has come via Venmo transactions with friends and that 100 percent of every dollar she raises will be donated to MHA.
“I’m thinking maybe I could raise the number to $10,000 as it’s only May 5 and have the rest of the month to go.” she said. “People are making such generous donations. One friend even made a super-crazy donation and told me that he didn’t really understand mental health at all, but now it’s a part of his life too, so I am glad to know that I changed someone’s mind about the stigma mental health has. He said I taught him how serious this is.
“Some people have no idea about what mental illness is, they think you are crazy or a monster, but we are humans who have to battle through it every day.”
To make a donation, visit Kiricoples’ MHA fundraising page,
https://www.classy.org/fundraiser/2750570.