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Geeks Care: How You Can Help Project UROK with Wil Wheaton

When Fanboy Comics is not providing you with the latest in geek news and entertainment, the FBC staff hopes to offer our readers a myriad of opportunities to give back to the community. We love reading comics, watching movies, and playing video games, but we are never happier than when we are able to help others in need. With Geeks Care: How You Can Help, FBC will provide you a variety of causes that would greatly appreciate your time.

For the month of May each year, organizations across the globe venture to raise awareness for mental health and well-being issues.  Given that one in four adults (approximately 61.5 million Americans) and 46.3 percent of 13-18 year olds experiences mental illness in a given year, an earnest effort is needed to provide these individuals with high-quality, lasting mental health care and also to end the inequalities that face people experiencing mental health problems. For that reason, this week’s installment of Geeks Care: How You Can Help focuses on the incredible efforts of Project UROK, a non-profit organization whose mission is to create funny, meaningful videos for teenagers struggling with mental health issues, made by people who have been there before.  Project UROK recently partnered with actor/writer/producer Wil Wheaton and The A.V. Club to share Wheaton’s own experience with generalized anxiety disorder and chronic depression, and they offer a number of opportunities and programs for you to get involved.

Founded in 2014 by Jenny Jaffe, Project UROK provides not only practical assistance to teenagers in need of mental health help, but also a sense of belonging, a sense of comfort, and a sense of hope.  The content on Project UROK ranges from comedy sketches, testimonials, informational videos, a podcast, and scripted and unscripted webseries, and the organization also provides a platform for readers to showcase their own voices and stories by allowing them to upload personal videos and testimonials.  In an effort to raise greater awareness and combat the isolation and stigmatization surrounding mental illness, Project UROK is endeavoring to initiate an honest and open conversation about the cause.

In sharing his own struggles with mental illness and depression, Wheaton emphasized that those dealing with mental health issues are not alone by noting, “You are not the only person in the world who has anxiety. You are not the only person in the world who has depression. You’re not the only person in the world who has thoughts of self-harm. There are people who want to help you. There are people who have spent their entire lives helping people like you and me and all of the people that you’re seeing in this video. And you’re not alone. You are okay.”

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For those interested in getting involved in Project UROK or making a donation to the organization, readers may visit the organization’s official website.  In addition, there are a plethora of organizations available for adults in need of mental health assistance, including the National Alliance on Mental Health, Mental Health America, and the Movement for Global Mental Health.

 


If you have a volunteer opportunity or an important cause that could use the assistance of a few geeks, please email the details to barbra (at) fanboycomics.net.

Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief

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