Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation

09/27/2025

Harvest Moon Community Solutions Festival

08/15/2025

BIG Youth Community Journalism show on Aug. 15 at 6 p.m. CT.

Watch live here at the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation page.

Youth Community Journalism: Building Solutions Together

This show takes viewers inside a vibrant, youth-led newsroom in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where journalists ages 8–16 investigate and share real stories of community change.

Produced by the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation’s Youth Community Journalism Institute, this special episode is the culmination of the 2025 youth community journalism summer microinternship. It features stories on the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, East Phillips Community Garden, Minnesota Zoo, Minnesota Star Tribune, LifeSource, and the Roof Depot East Phillips Urban Farm.

The program blends in-depth field reporting with in-studio conversations featuring community changemakers.

Guests include:
*Dr. Jessica Simacek, Director of TeleOutreach, Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain
*Sabina Saksena, Smart North Co-Founder and Board Member, Former CEO Tata Group, Former VP Marketing and Brand Management Coca-Cola
*Petra King, Fundraising, Program, and Tech Hub Manager at Smart North
*Joe Vital, Interim Executive Director, East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI)
*Jolene Jones, Little Earth Community Leader
*Col. Eduardo Suarez, Director of Culture, Resiliency, and Community Engagement, Minnesota National Guard
*Benjamin Glover, Mental Health Advocate, Big Talks Mentorship
*Nathaniel Harris, Musician and Community Builder, Nathaniel Harris Live

Together with the youth journalists, they explore solutions in health, environmental justice, mental wellness, technology, and cultural connection.

The show concludes with a lighthearted behind-the-scenes look at the 2025 summer microinternship program, complete with bloopers, showcasing the teamwork, learning, and laughter behind every story.

Filmed live at SPEAK MPLS Northeast Studio in collaboration with Carmen Robles and Associates LLC and Conversaciones de Salud, this episode is storytelling for a better tomorrow, powered by the next generation.

07/25/2025

Field trip to star tribune ⭐️

07/17/2025

Youth giving their reflection on the community garden.🪴🪴

07/17/2025

Were at the east phillip community garden.🪴🪴

07/07/2025

🔔 New Youth Community Journalism Show 🔔

Episode 13: Empowering Communities Through Entrepreneurship

Date: Monday, July 7
Show time: 6-7 p.m. CT
Location: SPNN (Saint Paul Neighborhood Network)

Show guests
*Elvis Rivera, CPPM, financial consultant at Fidelity Investments and 2025 Bush Fellow
*Amalia Moreno-Damgaard, Latin gourmet chef
*Johan Gomez Sang, small business specialist-commercial banking, Minnesota Bank & Trust, a division of UMB Bank, n.a.
*Anita Grace, MBA, CEO, Grace Multicultural

Show hosts
Christian Flores, age 15, 10th grade
Yareli Peña Howard, age 14, 9th grade

This show will explore community-centered entrepreneurship, wealth-building, and the power of youth in shaping an inclusive economic future. Guests will share how community-rooted finance, business ownership, and neighborhood organizing are opening new doors to opportunity. Together, we will examine what real financial freedom looks like and how young people and communities can lead the way.

Youth community journalists (ages 10-16) from the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation's Youth Community Journalism Institute lead the production at St. Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN) in St. Paul, Minnesota.

This show, and all youth community journalism programming at the Youth Community Journalism Institute, are produced in partnership with Conversaciones De Salud, a monthly digital and print magazine published by Carmen Robles and the premier media partner of the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation.

Watch live on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX8y9tss_mM

05/14/2025

Mental Health Action Day is May 15, and we're thrilled to announce the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation has been selected as one of 18 national grantees (out of 520 applicants) for the 5th annual Mental Health Action Day in partnership with WCCO & CBS News Minnesota and MTV.

We’re turning awareness into action in our community by having a Twin Cities Mental Health Action Festival with our Youth Community Journalism Institute, in partnership with the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Carmen Robles and Associates LLC, and Conversaciones De Salud.

Our event on May 15 at the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain in Minneapolis will connect youth and families from underserved Twin Cities communities with brain researchers, mental health experts, and medical professionals for a festival of food, music, goodie bags, educational video games, community newspapering, mental health support, and community empowerment.

This event kicks off Brain Health Solutions for All, a year-long initiative we are leading with the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain and our Youth Community Journalism Institute to expand access to actionable mental health education, information, and resources where they are needed most.

Through A.S.K. (Acknowledge, Support, Keep-in-Touch), we're also providing practical tools to support friends, peers, or loved ones.

Together as partners, we will work at different levels, across geographies and demographics to empower people to take action for their own mental health while sharing tools to help them support loved ones through everyday mental health challenges.

Mental Health Action Day lifts the conversation from awareness to action and encourages partners to share evidence-based tools that can help people take their first steps.

A mental health movement: https://strongmindstrongbody.org/twin-cities-mental-health-action-festival-kicks-off-innovative-new-brain-health-initiative-for-youth-and-families/

Brain Health Solutions for All: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-public-service-journalism-really-looks-like-eric-ortiz-uqlyc/

Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdL8dJ9GTPqp8R6W7drEzom4Fm_Hjii8wb4dAwZYTR2QKXl9Q/viewform

Mental Health Action Day Network: https://www.mentalhealthaction.network/

Learn more: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/5th-annual-mental-health-action-day-to-convene-more-than-3-000-organizations-and-brands-driving-culture-from-awareness-to-action-on-thursday-may-15th-302454143.html

05/12/2025

Thanks Minuteman Press Uptown. We are honored to be a print partner with your organization and team.

We love to collaborate with great organizations and teams.

💚🧡 Welcome Mind Strong Body Foundation as our newest nonprofit print partner!

Since their founding, they've been living their motto of "strong mind in a strong body" by creating powerful opportunities for youth in under-served communities. From funding youth sports programs to providing first-job experiences through micro-internships in tech, they're building stronger communities from the ground up.

Their amazing work includes youth entrepreneurship scholarships, citizen journalism projects, and the innovative Crossroads software supporting at-risk youth. Their Growing Math project beautifully integrates Indigenous and Latino cultures with mathematics and agricultural science. They're truly nurturing both minds and bodies in our community! 💪🧠

We are honored to help Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation amplify their mission through our print services. Welcome to the Minuteman Press Uptown family!

💫 mpuptown.com will help SMSBF do more to reach their community this year, saving them 15% on all their print spending. Learn how your nonprofit can benefit from this program here:
https://www.mpuptown.com/nonprofitpartner.html

05/12/2025

EXCITING NEWS. The Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation is now an MTV Mental Health Action Day grantee, partnering with WCCO & CBS News Minnesota to create real change in Minneapolis.

May 15th marks the 5th annual Mental Health Action Day, moving our culture beyond awareness to action on mental health. Through A.S.K. (Acknowledge, Support, Keep-in-Touch), we're providing practical tools for supportive conversations because you don't need to be an expert to help.

On May 15, the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation and its Youth Community Journalism Institute, in partnership with the Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain, Carmen Robles and Associates LLC, and Conversaciones De Salud, will host a Twin Cities Mental Health Action Festival, connecting youth and families from underserved Twin Cities communities with brain researchers, mental health experts, and medical professionals for a festival of food, music, goodie bags, educational video games, community newspapering, mental health support and community empowerment.

This event kicks off Brain Health Solutions for All, a year-long initiative to expand access to actionable mental health education and resources where they are needed most.

”