Grouphug
Hi! We’re Group Hug and we are a nonprofit organization that provides products and activities that help open the communication about mental health between students and caregivers. Mental health is an important topic to understand for any age group and we believe it should be taught at a young age. We understand that mental health can be difficult to learn about, but we’re here to help spread the facts and positivity.
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Kids Book Series
Space Adventures
Here at Grouphug, we think it’s vital that kids learn and understand both their own emotions and others. Our book series, Space Adventures, consists of three books that follow three different main characters as they learn about friendship, helping others, and understanding emotions. The three core emotions we focus on within this book series are happy, sad, and angry. To help kids understand emotional literacy, each story’s main characters is based on one of the core emotions, happy, angry, and sad, each represented by a character. The box set also comes with a pamphlet to advertise the book we created for the caregivers of the child. To make this more engaging, there is a crossword puzzle on the back that connects to the book series.
The Happy Alien
Happy the alien finds an unlikely friendship that changes his perspective on happiness. On a spur of the moment decision, Happy goes out of his way to help a group of robots get put back together. When he gets invited to stay for a game of Tazem, he teaches his new friend, the angry crab, learn a new skill. In the end, Happy realizes that true happiness doesn’t come from new items, but instead from the people you love.
A Robot Named Blue
The story of a robot who is sad and alone. Follow him on his journey to find his creator. On his way, he learns about friendship as he travels to new landscapes. As he helps others, he finds what he was really looking for all along.
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Caregiver Educational Book
A Guide To Depression In Children
In order to open communication between the child and caregiver, we created an informational booklet to hand out to the caregivers of the students. This book goes through and explains what depression is, the signs, and how to help your child if they are experiencing symptoms of depression. By connecting with both the kid and the caregiver through different angles, it will be easier to open communication about the topic.
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School Community Mural
Build a Mural
Our goal for this mural is to help build a positive community within the school. Each student is represented by a paper square that becomes a bigger picture when put together. This represents how each student is an important part of the community. By everyone writing a positive message on their square, students will be able to notice an abundance of new positive messages each time they pass the mural. The more a person is surrounded by positivity, the more they will think happier thoughts. Overall, our goal is to spread positivity for the well being of others.
Instructions
The instructions pamphlet includes information such as who we are as a company, our goal, and the meaning behind the mural itself. It also includes four easy steps on how to put the mural together. First, you hand out the squares to the students and staff. Second, write something positive on the square with pencil. Thirdly, match the numbers on the back of the squares with the numbers on the mural paper backing. Lastly, hang up the mural in the school hallway and watch as the positivity grows.
Mural Supplies
The box of mural supplies includes everything you need to build the mural. Wall safe tape for the paper backing, glue sticks for the squares, and pencils for the positive messages that will be written on the squares.
Mural Squares
This kit comes with enough squares to allow all students and staff to write their own message. In this case, there are about 500 squares that make up this mural. One side of the square has a number that matches the paper backing while the other is a piece of the bigger picture.
Finished Mural
The mural includes characters from the GroupHug book series Space Adventures to emphasize the positive themes within the stories. The phrase “Let’s hug it out.” has multiple positive interpretations that will help the students gain a positive mindset. We want to encourage students to be there for others and help in times of need. We also want the students to realize that the more they help others, the more others will help them. This phrase also represents not holding grudges and instead, coming to an agreement and forgiving one another, hence hugging it out. Our goal is to help create a positive mindset within the students to allow for a brighter future.
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Posters
Poster Campaign
These three posters would be hung within the school. They connect to the three stories and display a quote that tells the theme of each book.
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Grouphug App
The Grouphug app connects parents and children together and allows children to express how they are feeling whenever they log on to the app. The other part of the app consists of the caregivers information. They will be able to see what their child is willing to show them. This will help the kid have their own independence and also be able to share their emotions when they are ready. This allows the child to communicate with the parent without having to face a fear or awkwardness of telling them face to face. When they log in, they will be asked how they are feeling on a mood tracker which is always visible to the parent. There is a password that only the child knows so that they can feel comfortable sharing what they want to share and keeping what they want private. Within the app, there are daily activities such as a word scramble and a memory game. There is also a journal and sketchbook component where they can write down or draw their thoughts and reflect upon their life. The child has full control of choosing which entries they share and which ones they keep private.
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Future Implications
In the future, Grouphug would work with public schools to connect local artists to their school community. They would talk with the kids and teachers in order to gain a perspective on what the kids are interested in. The kids would help inspire the creations and what the overall theme would look like. In the end, the local artist would create books, a mural, and a poster that would connect the children and build a stronger community.