Mental Health Awareness: Interviewing Taylor Marshall, NJAS Founder
In celebration of Juneteenth, Ideas To Go would like to highlight and commemorate the successes and outreach of the organization, Not Just a Smile, Inc. Not Just a Smile is based in North Carolina and is dedicated to spreading mental health awareness within minority communities.
ITG President and Facilitator, Beth Storz, sat down with the founder of the NJAS organization, Taylor Marshall, to discuss more about the impact their movement has made and the inspiration behind it all.
Watch the Full Interview Here:
Not Just a Smile, Inc. is a youth-led organization supporting and de-stigmatizing mental health. Their organization’s name stems from the misconception of betterment and wellbeing as being a quick fix. Their name enforces that happiness is not just a smile away - it requires continued assistance, persistence, and attention. In the video above you’ll hear Taylor recount how she began her organization by interviewing African American college students and sharing their stories and experiences with others.
Through the organization’s growth they’ve raised money for Black Lives Matter, Purple Project to assist domestic violence victims, therapy for minority community members, and most recently they’ve put together a campus event called, “For the People, By the People” to raise money for mental health kits for children in Title One schools.
When asked about the challenges Not Just a Smile has overcome, Taylor detailed the difficulty she and her organization have faced in finding resources and raising adequate funding to make her projects successful. She also expressed the continued education she and her group have done to stay on top of the needs of their community.
In the future, Taylor wishes for additional chapters of Not Just a Smile to reach other campuses and locations as well as continued support to provide free therapy to minorities in underrepresented communities. To support Not Just a Smile, Inc., follow and share their website and Instagram page. If you'd like to join ITG in supporting NJAS financially, click here or order their apparel here.