HealthCorps

HealthCorps is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2003 that works to eliminate health inequity by educating and empowering teenagers to act as change-agents within their families, schools and neighbourhoods. Its programming is delivered through schools and community partnerships, and it maintains a presence in several states, including Florida, as well as California, Oklahoma and the Chickasaw Nation.

The organisation's work rests on an evidence-based curriculum covering mental health, physical health and community wellness. Its Teens Make Health Happen clubs give young people the knowledge and motivation to make healthy changes in their own lives and to catalyse change locally. Alongside this, HealthCorps trains near-peer mentors in partnership with school districts, universities and community organisations, who then deliver wellness education to their peers.

HealthCorps reports having worked in more than 340 alumni sites across the United States. Its activities sit at the intersection of public health, K-12 education and youth development, and the organisation describes an approach built on youth empowerment, peer-led change and long-term social, emotional and physical wellbeing.