News from MWAH!

Students, teachers, and community members are in the process of coping with the Thursday, January 7 death by suicide of Dylan Buckner, football team captain and quarterback at Glenbrook North High School.  The high school is located in Northbrook, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago.  As is often the case in the aftermath of tragedy, people ask how such a loss could have…

Feeling down or having a bad day at school, at home, or at work can make anyone’s day a little less pleasant.  Whether it results from performing poorly on a test, missing the game-winning shot, arguing with a sibling, quarreling with a friend, or getting a customer’s order wrong at work, moments of defeat and short-term failure can leave a…

As winter break begins at schools around the country, it’s natural for students to feel disappointed—maybe even depressed—about what they haven’t been able to do during the past semester amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  Athletes have been benched—not by their coaches, but by a virus—and the timeframe for their return to the playing field is uncertain in many regions of the…

The MWAH! Performing Arts Troupe would like to take a moment to wish you and yours a joyous holiday season.  MWAH! has always been focused on recognizing our common humanity and developing inspiring messages to help young people overcome life’s personal challenges.  While the year 2020 presented more than its share of challenges—the COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation, business failures, school…

NBC Chicago Channel 5 News recently reported (on December 11, 2020) about the suicide on October 21, 2020 of 18-year-old Trevor Till, a freshman at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. In an interview with reporter Regina Waldroup, Trevor’s mother, Lisa Moore, said the COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed her son’s life, and she wanted others to know about both the…

Jason Preston had been living with his mom in Orlando, Florida.  She was his only family as his father had left their home when Jason was born and there were no siblings.  It was his mom who helped inspire his passion for basketball and who encouraged him to watch and learn from NBA players on TV as he tried to…

As Thanksgiving approaches, the MWAH! (Messages Which Are Hopeful) Performing Arts Troupe would like to take a moment to thank Illinois Humanities for its financial support in making the troupe’s work possible. MWAH! was fortunate to receive a $2,500 COVID-19 Emergency Relief Grant from Illinois Humanities in order to advance the troupe’s mission of changing lives and saving lives through…

WGN-TV recently introduced viewers to Jahkil Jackson, a 13-year-old who is driven to serve others and raise awareness about an issue that affects students each day: bullying.  Jahkil wrote I Am, a children’s book that tells the story of a young person who was bullied by his peers.  He based the story in part on his own experiences with bullying…

Physical distancing and the disruption of normal routines necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic have had an unfortunate—and tragic—side effect—an increase in depression, including among young people who are unprepared for the loss of traditional connections.  NBC News recently featured the story of Hayden Hunstable, a 12-year-old who died by suicide.  His parents attribute his untimely death to the social isolation that he…

MWAH!’s Wichita base director makes a positive difference through art Steve Brewster, Director of our troupe’s Wichita base, was doing air-brushed drawings one Saturday in October at a flea market in Wichita when a father and his son, an eight-year-old named Tristan, stopped to watch Steve creating a variety of designs. Both the father and his son looked unhappy, but…