Millwood High School’s ‘Athletes as Citizens’ program builds leadership through community involvement

A student-led program at Millwood High School is helping young athletes become leaders both on and off the field.

Launched in spring 2024 with $2,250 in funding from the Cobequid Community Health Board wellness fund, the Athletes as Citizens program encouraged student athletes to prioritize mental wellness, give back to their school community and demonstrate kindness and respect.

The program is a collaboration between student athletes, staff health champions, the Youth Health Centre and the Mental Health and Addictions health promotion team from Nova Scotia Health.

Through workshops and guest speakers, students learned how to foster inclusion and belonging in a school environment. They’ve organized free school lunches, pancake breakfasts and mental health presentations at local elementary schools. Other projects included improvements to the school environment, such as installing garbage cans in the student parking lot.

Principal Stephen Corkum said the program has had a noticeable impact.

“Through Athletes as Citizens, students are giving back in meaningful ways and we’ve received numerous success stories and positive feedback about the impact they’re making,” Corkum said. “Our hope is that these experiences will inspire them to be thoughtful and engaged citizens throughout their lives.”

The idea for this program came from conversations among health champions at the school, in consultation with mental health promoters. It has since become a core part of the Millwood athletics program and will continue annually.

Funding from the Believe in Hope Foundation helped sustain the program in its second year, allowing student athletes to continue organizing wellness and citizenship projects.

Violet Coffin is a 2025 graduate and multisport athlete. She said the program gave her and her peers a chance to grow.

“We had the opportunity to help others, step into impactful leadership roles and inspire others to do the same,” she said. “Athletes as Citizens is an essential program at Millwood, supporting us as athletes to grow through sport and community involvement.”

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Organizers say the program helps students flourish in a school environment that values well-being, inclusion and caring. It’s also considered a foundation for leadership and citizenship capacity among youth.

This year, the program is focused on increasing food access at school and supporting equity-focused activities.

The wellness fund has been instrumental in helping the program meet its goals, covering costs for groceries, speaker honorariums, workshop materials and supplies for school-wide campaigns.

Community health board wellness funds support non-profit groups working to improve health in their communities. Among other things, grants go toward programs that promote food security, housing, transportation and social participation. The goal is to reduce risks of poor health outcomes in Nova Scotia communities.

By linking athletic participation with community service, Millwood High hopes to instill a sense of responsibility and pride in its student athletes and encourage them to be better teammates and better members of their school community.

Photo (1) Boys’ basketball players support the “No Good Way” campaign at Millwood high school. (2) Members of the girls’ hockey team assist at Millwood elementary with mental health workshops.