OK YOU, partners announce ‘OK Challenge’ for Oregon HS students: Get creative for mental health, win prizes

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) – When the world is overwhelming, how do you find your own ‘OK’? With youth mental health issues sharply on the rise, educators, parents and health professionals are looking for answers. Portland non-profit OK YOU has found that art, creativity, and community are powerful tools to support young people in navigating anxiety and maintaining inner well-being.

Now together with the Portland Art Museum and sponsor Wieden+Kennedy they are offering the OK CHALLENGE to give high school students the chance to share their own stories and strategies for finding their ‘OK’.

"Do you have a creative practice or ritual that helps you when you’re having a hard time? Now is your chance to share it!" says Kathleen Lane, founder of OK YOU. "The OK CHALLENGE gives students the chance to tap their creativity to support wellness in their own lives and in the lives of young people everywhere."

The OK CHALLENGE invites Oregon and Washington high school students to submit videos or slideshows of their best ideas for promoting creativity and emotional wellness by March 31,2023. Winners are eligible for cash and other prizes, including having their project featured on the OK You website and YouTube channel, where they will be made available for use by counselors, teachers, families and others looking for strategies that promote mental wellness.

Submission guidelines can be found at okyou.org/ok-challenge, which also includes a short inspirational overview of the Challenge.

"OK You is doing powerful work that shows how creativity and the arts supports kids' mental health and wellness,” says OK Challenge collaborator Hana Layson, Head of Youth and Educator Programs at the Portland Art Museum. “I love that the OK Challenge recognizes the knowledge that high school students carry and provides a platform for them to share that knowledge with each other and with people of all ages."

“Creativity can be any idea that engages the imagination,” adds Lane. “We are looking for ideas, not masterpieces.”

At the end of the project, all participants are invited to the OK Celebration hosted by the Portland Art Museum on May 7.

OK YOU is a nonprofit that offers free online projects and creative resources for navigating anxiety and staying connected to our OK selves. Their work supports 60+ schools and youth-supporting organizations in and around Portland and thousands more individuals nationwide. More information is available on their website: www.okyou.org.