Morgan’s Message is taking a shot at mental health at Warren Township High School! We are a club with the goal of trying to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health through the hard work of student ambassadors. This nationwide organization promotes the story of Morgan Rogers, a Division – 1 Lacrosse player at Duke University who died by suicide in 2019 after losing her battle to mental health struggles. She was a player that had it all: she was captain of her team and had big dreams for her future. Just before her sophomore season, she faced an earth shattering knee injury which caused her to have feelings of self-doubt and lose a lot of the confidence she had within herself. She believed she was losing control of her life and feeling of isolation took over. Morgan Rogers was a beam of light in the worlds of many, and in spreading her message there is hope for turning devastation into action and creating a more welcoming environment for student athletes who may be struggling.

Striving to promote Morgan’s Message is best done through reaching out to athletes and teams themselves. Our first big success this year was the dedication football game this past October which was also senior night. Many students, teachers, families, and community members were in attendance and Morgan’s Message was promoted, announced, and had a booth for more personal interaction with additional information and goodies. The first girls event we held this year was a girls volleyball dedication game which took place on October 22nd. Success also came from halftime competitions as well during the Boys basketball season. On December 4th and January 22nd, Morgan’s Message hosted a fundraiser with a $1 entry fee to a half court shot competition in which names were randomly selected and the opportunity for the spotlight was open. We were able to raise lots of money for Morgan’s Message through these events, and the outreach towards other members of the community remains immense. Our most recent dedication game was on February 1st for the girls basketball team. With winter sports coming to a close, dates for spring dedication games, matches, and meets will be available soon on our social media.

As stated, Morgans Message is a club run by student ambassadors, so lets meet them!

First we have Addison Stanciak, captain of the girls soccer team and future billiken at St. Louis University. When asked, “Why is Morgan’s Message important to you?” Addison responded, “Morgan’s message is important to me because I deeply care about mental health. It started freshman year. I struggled on and off the field not only from injury but being a freshman on varsity was rough. But that season sparked the realization that no one should have to go through that. When I found out about Morgan’s message, I was immediately intrigued and knew it would be important to integrate into sports at Warren”. Annalyse Bryant is also a student ambassador for Morgan’s Message and plays badminton. Kate Mondejar is our Junior ambassador and is also a proud member of the girls soccer team. She believes Morgan’s Message is important “Because the stigma around mental health is often overlooked, especially in young athletes. Morgan’s message and I want to empower others to take charge of their mental health.” I am also a student ambassador for Morgan’s Message and my answer to the question, “Why is Morgan’s Message important to you?” is “Nothing is more important than your well-being, physically and mentally. Without a healthy body and mind, being able to perform your best is difficult, maybe even impossible.”

Without the help of Athletic Director Aimee Lonigro, none of this would have been possible. She was able to fuel our passions for the cause and expand our reigns to lots of different student athletes at Warren. With that being said, this is her statement on why Morgan’s Message is important to her: “Morgan’s Message is special to me because it is student-athlete driven which means this is something very important to them. I am honored that the athletes asked me to sponsor this club and I am impressed with the work they put in to get information out to our student body. Their meetings create a safe space for our student-athletes to express their feelings and see that so many other athletes are going through some of the same challenges within their sport. It is an inclusive club with no judgements.”