The award recognized the nonprofit’s work in youth mental health advocacy.
Resilient Lehigh Valley (RLV) and the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley (UWGLV) announced that the “Youth Speak Up Lehigh Valley” campaign overview video received a 2024 Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy® Award in the category News/Program Promotion/PSA – Campaign. The win highlights the organization’s commitment to driving positive change around youth mental health and creating a lasting impact in our community.
“This prestigious recognition underscores the power of collaboration and the importance of elevating youth voices in addressing mental health challenges,” said the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley’s Director of Community Resilience Ashi Singh. “Our partnership with eMediaWorks and Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts has been instrumental in bringing this vision to life. At Resilient Lehigh Valley, we are committed to creating lasting change, and this award strengthens our resolve to continue supporting young people as they navigate these critical issues.”
The campaign presents a series of impactful public service announcement videos created with direct input collected from focus groups comprised of Lehigh Valley teenagers. The videos serve as a platform to amplify the voices of local youth, who passionately advocated for a youth-to-parent educational campaign. Their unique experiences deeply informed the campaign and aim to bridge the generational gap on crucial topics surrounding youth mental health and personal resilience.
The process started in 2022, when RLV, UWGLV and Aevidum joined forces to host a Youth Mental Health Summit, where young people from Lehigh Valley school-based Aevidum clubs advocated for a youth-to-parent educational campaign led by their peers and influenced by their unique experiences. Over the following months, RLV engaged in dialogues with youth, which became the starting point for identifying pivotal themes that were subsequently weaved into the Youth Speak Up campaign. The collaborative process ensured young people felt represented and the content created genuinely resonated with the target audience – their parents.
RLV, UWGLV and Aevidum collaborated with eMediaWorks and the Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts to produce the campaign, and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and Lehigh County provided funding support.
The campaign aimed to create content that fosters communication between young people and their parents. #YouthSpeakUp continues to make a difference by providing resources and raising awareness about mental health struggles many youth face today.
The full list of 2024 Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy Award recipients is available at https://natasmid-atlantic.org/awards/2024-mid-atlantic-regional-emmy-recipients/.
