Top reasons to start a chapter of Active Minds on your campus:
Chapters receive the support and advice of dedicated full-time staff at the Active Minds, Inc. office in Washington, DC
Only chapters are eligible to:
Participate in Active Minds, Inc. programs and to receive free program-related giveaways
Apply for conference scholarships
Apply for chapter development grants
Chapters have access to thousands of other students through chapter-only listservs and discussion boards
Chapters benefit from the backing of a nationally recognized
organization that can help you gain better recognition at your school
and help give the group more credibility with the counseling center and
administration
You will be part of the national fight against the stigma that surrounds mental health
Initial steps for starting a chapter:
E-mail chapters@activeminds.org
to let us know that you are interested in starting a chapter. One of
our Chapter Coordinators will respond with more information on how to
go through the process.
Create an ActiveMinds.org web account to gain access to our exclusive
resources for developing chapters. After receiving a confirmation e-mail that your account has been processed, visit www.activeminds.org/chapterresources to download the Developing Chapter Toolkit.
Register Active Minds as a recognized student group at your college/university. NOTE: To be considered an official chapter of Active Minds, your chapter must be names in the "Active Minds at XX (your school's name/nickname)" format.
As soon as you have registered with your school, you may register with Active Minds, Inc.
NOTE: Active Minds, Inc. will only recognize new chapters when the university gives the student group recognition and the Active Minds, Inc. office has received the Chapter Registration Form and documentation of said recognition.
Heather Willes from Active Minds at Bryn Mawr College says:
"Active Minds has given me a feeling of control over how I view myself and has instilled within me the belief that the silence surrounding the stigma of mental illness can be broken. It has made me more comfortable talking about my own experiences and I can only hope that it can do the same for others."
