By Harrison Mayesh
Assistant Circulation Editor
At the start of each school year, many students at Costa create new clubs and organizations that they are passionate about. Sophomores Lucy Taylor and Kyra Williams were inspired by The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation and decided together to bring this amazing program onto Costa’s campus.
The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation (JMMF) is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to Jimmy Miller. Miller was a beloved teacher, lifeguard, friend, surfer and Costa graduate, who passed away in 2004. Taylor and Williams wanted to bring the club to Costa to spread the organization into the eyes of other students.
“My mom has worked for JMMF for the past couple years now, and I saw how much the work of the foundation truly helped others,” Taylor said. “I have volunteered at a lot of the JMMF’s fundraisers and when I started seeing more people around my age, I realized that I wasn’t the only one interested.
The Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation focuses on helping their patients by using the environment to heal their illnesses. Professional therapists, surf instructors, lifeguards, and volunteers help treat patients with severe illnesses such as post traumatic stress disorder. These patients include returning Marines and Veterans and both abused and foster children.
“People that you go and surf with are often struggling with mental illnesses such as PTSD, because most of them are war veterans, so to see people have an outlet like being in the water and having fun and being able to see that actually happening in person is an experience that most clubs don’t have,” sophomore and publicity manager said. “It makes you feel like you are making a positive impact.”
Click here to see more information about the Jimmy Miller Foundation
Presidents Taylor and Williams, Vice President Trey Mahan, Treasurer McKenna Hawkes and Publicity Managers Trod and London Foster are still currently in the early stages of developing their club this means they are creating fundraising ideas and getting students to join, and ultimately have a goal that they hope to reach. This is to get as many high schoolers as they can to participate in the foundation.
Click here to see updates about the Jimmy Miller
“Since our club is still in the works, I have been contributing behind the scenes by ensuring there is communication between ourselves, the co-presidents, and the foundation,” Taylor said. “Kyra and I have all been responsible for getting members to be in the club and interested in volunteering for the foundation.”
Taylor wants to promote healthy and charitable living because that is one of the goal of the Jimmy Miller Memorial Foundation. The club will endorse ocean therapy which is a surfing program through the foundation made to assist individuals dealing with mental and physical illnesses in using the ocean environment.
“The club will promote enjoying where we live and getting in the ocean to help other people around you by using the ocean,” Taylor said. “All around we want the club to help better individuals and the community.”
By organizing fundraisers such as bakes sales Taylor and Williams hope to reach their goal of getting more teenagers involved in the organization and helping raise money for the foundation.
“By senior year, we hope to grow the club to a large level and promote good mental health for everyone from soldiers, students, to abused children,” Taylor said. “We want to bring awareness to how much ocean therapy heals and how it helps your state of mind. We want to know that we have brought awareness to mental health issues and know that we have affected the community in a good way.”
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