Students from Sarnia's Holy Trinity Catholic School are spreading uplifting messages of hope and positivity on the Blackburn Radio airwaves over the next week.
The Mindful Messages campaign, aimed at improving mental health, was launched in 2022 at St. Joseph Catholic Elementary School in Corunna.
The short commercials, voiced by students in grades one through eight, are running as part of Mental Health Week and Catholic Education Week.
Holy Trinity Teacher Daniel Cicchelli said the students gain a lot from the experience.
"The students are naturally encouraged to kind of take their learning within the classroom, about mental health and supporting others, and they extend it into the community," said Cicchelli. "At Holy Trinity, we have our HT Cares team. They go around and support students with their mental health, wellness and positive motivations. It's kind of engrained into the entire school culture which is pretty cool."
Student Kenzie Lo is a member of the "HT Cares" team.
She said Mindful Messages is an impactful program.
"It gives the students a chance to see the impact that they make," said Lo. "Even the youngest kids had really good messages, and they had a chance to show how hard they worked on them. The messages can help to improve someone's day."
The theme for Catholic Education Week is "Pilgrims of Hope".
It was inspired by Pope Francis' announcement for the upcoming 2025 holy year and emphasizes the need to "fan the flame of hope".
