Impactful service projects start with leadership, vision, and a heart to serve. When Lieutenant Governor Bailey McVay from Division 18 saw an opportunity to help the growing issue of mental health in teenagers, she took it upon herself to utilize the Florida Opportunity Fund (FLOF) to transform an idea into meaningful service.
Every meaningful service initiative starts with a simple question: what does our community need the most? For Division 18, the answer led us to a growing challenge in our very own clubs and schools. As a Key Clubber and high schooler, I see firsthand that my peers are emotionally carrying far more than they reveal. Mental health remains a quiet struggle among teenagers around the world. In a joint effort, Key Club and our service partner Erika’s Lighthouse are on a mission to break stigma while fostering better well-being for all.
Building on this pursuit, we launched a divisional service project to shape mental health
education and support. We set an ambitious goal: to assemble and distribute 120 Good Mental
Health Toolkits throughout local schools. To make a genuine impact, each kit required practical
resources such as reflective activities, notebooks, and accessible helpline information.
As the expenses swelled, we turned to the Florida Opportunity Fund (FLOF) to support our vision. After a quick and easy FLOF application, we could proceed with the project and focus on what truly matters—helping people feel seen and empowered. The funds were used to cover the purchase of paper bags and printed materials.
Division 18 also utilized other methods, such as gathering donations of notebooks and fidgets. The takeaway for future applicants is simple: be creative and explore every available avenue of support.
With the guidance of Erika’s Lighthouse and passion of Key Clubbers, the project’s most powerful moment arrived when members from across the Division came together. They learned about mental health, wrote encouraging notes for recipients, decorated bags, assembled the toolkits, and showed up for one another with compassion. To extend this spirit of care throughout the Division, Key Clubbers brought the kits back to their home clubs for distribution.
Each toolkit represents kindness at the heart of Key Club, brought to life through FLOF and international partners like Erika’s Lighthouse.