Strike Out The Stigma hosted its fourth annual event in Marion, Iowa, in May 2024. This year’s event brought in over 200 baseball and softball players, plus community members and supporters, to kick off the summer with ball games, training sessions, and conversations about mental health.
Wired Production Group was honored to support the event by providing staff, audio equipment, and one of our mobile LED screens to elevate the event experience at Prospect Meadows Sports Complex. Our video crew worked alongside the volunteers to capture and create a brief post-event recap video for social media. This video was designed to be featured on Facebook and Instagram and also used for promotional purposes in 2025. It was an awesome day to be at the ball fields!
What is Strike Out The Stigma?
Strike Out the Stigma is an outreach initiative aimed at promoting essential discussions about the importance of healthy living, supporting our community, and eliminating the negative stigma associated with mental health. The volunteers involved in the initiative work to provide information and increase mental health awareness in the Cedar Rapids area. Volunteers with Strike Out The Stigma have built an annual event to help provide tools and guidance on how schools can support their students’ mental wellness.
Along with the annual in-person event, the Strike Out the Stigma website offers various mental health resources, including crisis hotlines, counseling services, substance abuse recovery programs, and general wellness organizations year-round.
Supporting Mental Health Awareness in High School Students
Strike Out the Stigma partners with Prairie High School Baseball/Softball, Green Bandana Project, Project Safe, and Prospect Meadows to put on their annual mental health awareness event. The four-day event includes guest speakers, mindfulness activities, baseball and softball games, and a silent auction. One of the big features of the event experience is a wellness resource area open to all attendees. This includes a trade show featuring local agencies and resources on-site that provide additional information on brain health, substance abuse, suicide prevention, and overall wellness.
In 2024, Strike Out The Stigma hosted a “Hidden in Plain Sight” interactive display for parents, guardians, teachers, and other adults in attendance. This education experience walks you through a typical teenage bedroom. The bedroom display is set up with drug paraphernalia “hidden in plain sight” and offers insight on where to look for hidden drugs in your household. It also makes it easier for an informed parent to know whether or not their child is doing drugs.
“We are fortunate enough to have the support of Wired Production Group, especially as we continue to grow our numbers and overall outreach. With their event expertise and resources, we were able to showcase clips and pictures from our previous events, have a student perform the National Anthem, and host Jodi Stepanek of Big Heart Mindfulness and Meditation do a pre-game session with every participating athlete about the importance of visualizing successes. After our event, Wired put together a video showcasing the incredible work done the night of the event so we can continue to spread the word and promote future events. We are grateful for this partnership and look forward to working with Wired again for future events.”
How to Support Strike Out The Stigma
While this event is held annually in the spring, you can support Strike Out The Stigma’s efforts to support mental health awareness year-round. Learn more about Strike Out the Stigma’s annual events on Facebook, or you can contribute to the organization’s efforts by donating here.
To learn more about Strike Out the Stigma, please visit their website at www.strikeoutthestigmaiowa.com.