Sweeping across Osceola County’s digital landscape, a teen-led movement is proving that empathy doesn’t have an age requirement.
Florida Cyber Charter Academy high school students and co-founders of Project You Matter, Scarlet Phillips, 17, Sa’Von Smith, 17, and Alana Bewry, 16, are the visionaries driving that change, stepping up to support their peers when it matters most.
“Project You Matter is a teen-led initiative dedicated to supporting young people facing mental health challenges, serious illnesses, and other difficult life circumstances,” said Smith.
Smith said It started as an idea for a podcast for a class assignment.
“Then eventually it led to Scarlet’s idea of wanting to help people, and I supported it 100%,” Smith said. It led us to eventually making Project You Matter because we knew a lot of the students, we are friends with, and just people we knew in general were struggling with things, and we wanted to help out because we just knew it was going to be a good thing to do.”
Phillips said the podcast was centered on the mental health of teenagers their age, and they realized they wanted to expand it beyond their school.
“So, in creating Project You Matter and having that website, we found that we’re able to reach different organizations with teenagers and you know our peers around us, and that we’re able to help maybe even make just a second of their day better, and I think that is everything,” she said.
Through the website (projectyoumatter.org), young people can create personalized digital cards by writing encouraging messages, drawing artwork, and sharing words of hope that are delivered directly to teens who may be going through some of the hardest moments of their lives.
“I think doing it with my friends who have supported my mental health so much, I’ve realized the impact that that support has, and I think it’s why I’ve been able to do this with them as well,” said Phillips. “But to know that we’ve got different people in different states that are working on this and are excited to reach out, and they want to make cards as well or find other organizations. It’s been amazing to watch it all come together and to know that a teenager out there is seeing something that we’ve worked for.”
Phillips said the peer-topeer element is exactly what makes the project work, noting that teenagers share a unique perspective on the challenges they face.
“Ultimately, we want them to feel seen,” said Phillips. “Coming from their peers, that’s the most meaningful way to receive that. As a teenager in this day and age, I feel like most of the time it feels that our peers are against us. Whether that be from comparison or bullying, whatever it might be. So, I think that what makes this difference is that this is by teens for teens.
“I would like for this to become something that teams can work on locally together in groups to the point where they’re physically making cards, and we can send it out through the mail and bundles towards different facilities. But I also want for it to grow to the point where every organization that we are partnered with, every organization receiving the cards, is also receiving donations, so that they can grow and support their clients and other teenagers best.”
Smith said he remembers a moment when these cards made a difference to one of their good friends and volunteer, 16-yearold Isabella, who introduced her 13-year-old friend to him, who was struggling with mental health.
“And they’re like, ‘You guys have such a great thing,” said Smith. “It really does make me feel so emotional because these kids are way younger than me. I’m about to be 18, but to see something like this is something I wish I had when I was younger, to have a sense of community for people to love and respect you and make you feel welcome. It’s just honestly amazing.”
Phillips said she wants to reach out to special needs and hospitals that would be willing to work with them in spreading their mission.
“I know right now we’re working with some counseling and therapy centers, but I would like to work more with some special needs areas and hospitals,” said Phillips. “I think that’d be awesome to include.”
Phillips said you can see what they do on Instagram and TikTok (@projectyoumatteralways), as well as having a Discord server where teens like them can come together as a community.
“It shows a lot of good in people, and that’s reassuring,” said Phillips. “I think we all could be more compassionate, and it would help society so much. We’re all growing from this, whether we’re receiving the card or making it.”
Smith said they make this project for teens and young adults to feel joy and to be loved.
“That’s why we made this, so teens, young adults, and kids can feel that joy and that love from not only just people they know in their lives, but complete strangers who are out there and be like, ‘Yo, we’re around your age, or we might be a little bit older, but like we love and we care about you,” said Smith. “And I feel like that is really important because it’s one thing to be loved by someone you know, but it’s different to be loved by someone you don’t even know, and it’s just some random person out there in the world who’s like, ‘I’m rooting for you.’”
