Heal for Health’s Ontario chapter was co-founded by two passionate high schoolers from Canada united by their initiative’s powerful mission statement. As per their robust call to action, Heal for Health Ontario seeks to “establish a culture of health and wellness: where prevention is prioritized and rural access to healthcare is augmented”
Their advocacy efforts are also categorized into four sections, which are managed by an international team of supervisors and volunteer taskforces: HEAL for non-communicable diseases, HEAL for female reproductive health, menstruation and neo-natal care, HEAL for monitoring vitals such as respiration rate, pulse rate, and blood pressure and HEAL for empowering women towards financial freedom.
Resulting from their tireless work and expansive projects, Heal for Health Ontario has reached 1500 people through relief efforts partnered with hospitals. Their educational webinars have representatives from numerous countries, creating a diverse platform for continuous social change.
For my interview feature, I spoke with club founder Sophia Salazar and vice president Vanessa. Sophia just finished her first year at the University of Toronto St. George campus, and is studying health and disease. Vanessa is a high school sophomore from Hillcroft, Ontario.
Now, let’s learn more about the origins and future goals of this changemaking nonprofit! I cannot believe we have already spotlighted over five international communities.
How did your organization come about?
“I came across Heal for Health from my friend Jana. She started the main organization, and what really drew me to the organization was their first initiative when she went to India. She helped a lot of women, children, and disadvantaged communities by spreading awareness of female health issues,” Sophia said.
“[Jana] distributed female sanitary products and did overall like education on safe sex, which is very taboo in that community. I thought that it was so inspiring, and the whole organization was extremely ambitious so I wanted to bring it to Canada. So that's sort of like our whole mission: to reduce health disparities for women and children, specifically in Canadian communities.”
Sophia continued by introducing her culture and familial history.
“I also wanted to help reduce health disparities, but I think that drew me to focus on international aspects since one of our initiatives was about hosting a pediatric clinic in parts of Bolivia.
“My father is from Bolivia, so being able to have a community close to me and connecting with doctors like the pediatric patients was powerful, making that impact and connecting with those children to make a difference. And like, when making personal care packages and stuff it was a nice experience for me. Reasons I really liked it is because it encapsulated that health equity aspect with a [personal touch].”
Image from Heal for Health Instagram: An informational webinar is just one of their outreach events!
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced?
“Getting volunteers was definitely a challenge because Heal for Health is still a pretty small organization,” both team members agreed.
“For our learning packages and Medical Books, I wanted to make a lot of books but a lot of the centers and the distribution sites wanted specific topics. I needed people to actually make the material. So, I overcame that through social media platforms like Tiktok and Instagram: optimizing my social media team. Using platforms like VolunteerMatch is effective in giving people the opportunities, so we are getting better and getting more people to join our chapter.”
Do you have any future goals & projects planned?
“The future and ongoing project we hope to expand on is our Mini Medical book Project,” Vanessa said. “I think that's our most useful project at the moment, and I think has been like the highest impact."
Vanessa continued to give a brief summary of what the project is.
“We aim to like increase accessibility to medical education and awareness, where we have teams of undergraduate, graduate, masters, and even medical students who are working to make a book about any medical topic. Once the books are created, we distribute it to a bunch of centers internationally, but mostly nationally.
One of our international sites is a Martin Luther King Center in Cuba, which we're going to start over the summer which I'm really excited about. We go to national sites or refugee centers in Toronto that target indigenous communities in Canada…medical education in those sort of demographics are really important. So that's sort of why I love the project. And I think it embodies the whole idea of like health equity by helping out our community," she said.
General Words of Advice for High Schoolers
Both founders have advice compiled from previous experiences they would love to share with aspiring high schoolers interested in starting their own nonprofit or school club. Keeping a level head while pursuing ambitious goals is difficult to balance but important for any student activist.
“Throughout all of high school, I was really hesitant with a sort of Impostor Syndrome. Like, am I good enough to do this? I don't know if I can do this. And I think that's like one of the biggest challenges for people. You can find mentors and young innovators and they really want to help and they really love to help. For example, I work at Cancer Kids First, which is the largest youth led cancer organization. Olivia, the founder, Olivia, is amazing. She helped me find volunteers for HEAL,” Sophia said.
Vanessa correlated her successes with bonding and mentorship. “I think my biggest obstacle was having the courage to start. Being able to put yourself out there through social media and promotionals is stressful, so having a mentor to guide you and stay organized is so beneficial,” she said.
In conclusion...
It was a transformative and inspiring experience to network with and learn more about Heal for Health Ontario’s team and initiatives. Herthoughtspirals anticipates their outreach will support future goals, especially getting students involved in open volunteer positions. As a brief aside, VolunteerMatch is hiring teen students for medical care kit assembly and Heal for Health would appreciate any prospective team members.
Social Media & Relevant Contact Information
Instagram: @healforhealth_
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/healforhealth
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