I currently volunteer as the Chief Financial Officer of the teen-run organization called Recovery Meet-Ups. 

Recovery Meet-Ups is a nonprofit helping teenagers with eating disorders recover through group therapy sessions via Zoom. Recovery Meet-Ups was recognized in Teen Vogue, was on the San Diego television news station, and is a Call for Kindness Fellow with the Riley’s Way Foundation, which comes with a $3000 grant for the nonprofit. 

I am honored to be one of the original leadership board members. As the Chief Financial Officer of Recovery Meet-Ups, I handle everything relating to the grant money, which means I purchase software, website domains, and much more. In addition, I help with extra tasks that make the rest of the volunteers’ jobs easier. 

For example, I help make social media posts, work on our website, and host Zoom meet-ups. I also participate in weekly meetings with the rest of the board to discuss what else the project needs to succeed. In my volunteer position, I get the privilege of serving youth around the world in their mental health journeys. It is inspiring for me to hear from teenagers who are struggling, but find a way to support each other even when they do not feel they can support themselves. 

Each Meet-Up is facilitated by a volunteer Meet-Up Mentor and contains lessons on how to prepare for situations that might trigger the eating disorder and allows participants to talk about their experiences in a safe space. I got involved with Recovery Meet-Ups after I had started my own club at school, focusing on mental illness called Changing Minds. 

My uncle has severe schizophrenia, which has impacted my life and my family’s lives, so freshman year I knew I wanted to bring awareness to this issue and reduce the stigma of mental illness in my new school community. In my freshman year, I participated in The Experiment Digital, a virtual exchange program, which helped my idea for the club grow. I participated in virtual workshops that led me through everything from creating a name for the club to making a plan of action for finding members to join. The club was a success, with many members attending each meeting, and it still flourishes today. 

At each meeting, we discuss a different mental illness or condition. In one meeting, we discussed eating disorders, and a member of the club who had suffered from anorexia offered to share some personal insight with the group. She led a discussion about her experience, facilitated an activity, and did a question-and-answer session for people looking to educate themselves on this mental illness. I was immediately inspired by her perseverance and willingness to open up to the group. 

A few months later, she reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in being on the board of her new project, Recovery Meet-Ups. I immediately said yes and I have been a proud leader ever since. 

Because of Recovery Meet-Up’s status as a Call for Kindness Fellow with the Riley’s Way Foundation, I was lucky enough to go on two all-expenses-paid leadership and project-based retreats across the country, in New York and Washington D.C. These retreats include bonding with other youth leaders, helping our projects grow, and allowing a leading spirit to flourish inside of us. 

These experiences have impacted the way I volunteer and lead as I live my life out, not only through Recovery Meet-Ups, but also as I volunteer at my parish, a family friend’s horse ranch, school, and in life in general.

Congratulation to Oliva for being one of our 2023 High School Service Awardees!

Olivia will be donating part of her monetary award to Recovery Meet-Ups.