Donate

Case Studies

What it looks like when a school actually runs the Creative Coping Toolkit: what they were facing, how they used it, and what changed.

The two schools below licensed their own access. We include them because they show how the program works in practice, not because Impactful Fund paid for them. The statewide programs further down are what donors made possible.

Plymouth Public Schools

A Tier 1 intervention across two middle schools

A district of 7,000 students across 13 schools, building a structured first line of mental health support.

The challenge

Plymouth Public Schools saw a rising need for Tier 1 mental health support. Students and teachers wanted help with bullying behavior and phone use, and educators were already carrying heavy workloads.

What they did

The district took year-long access to Angst, The Upstanders and LIKE across two middle schools, assigning one program to each grade: LIKE for 6th, Angst for 7th, The Upstanders for 8th. Teachers received implementation training and built lesson plans around the resources.

What happened

  • A trusted, tested Tier 1 resource aligned with SEL core competencies
  • Every middle schooler and their family had access to mental wellness resources
  • 85% of Angst viewers considered mental health support somewhat to extremely important for their school
  • A clear intervention with tangible activities and structure, rather than another initiative
  • Pressure relieved on Tier 2 and Tier 3 support

A private high school in Illinois

Six weeks on race, identity and belonging

140 students, one grade, and a deliberate attempt to make a hard conversation safe.

The challenge

School leaders wanted a safe environment for 140 high school students to talk about race and identity, and to build empathy across different backgrounds and cultures.

What they did

The school took year-round access to RACE to Be Human. All 10th graders went through a six-week program of weekly sessions built around film segments and facilitated discussion, with vocabulary worksheets and time set aside to reflect.

What happened

  • Students developed curiosity about other cultures and a lifelong-learning mindset
  • A shared baseline of knowledge across the whole 10th grade
  • A foundation for conversations that continued after the six weeks ended

What it looks like at state scale

Three states have run the Creative Coping Toolkit across their school systems. This is what Impactful Fund exists to do: funding that removes the cost for everyone at once.

  • California

    Four years, from 2021, in partnership with CalHOPE

    7,000 schools · 1.7 million students

    Full K–12 and community college access. The program ended in June 2025 and is seeking renewal.

  • Illinois

    A five-month pilot, from 2023

    569 schools · approximately 165,000 students

    Concentrated in Chicago and Cook County, reaching some rural districts.

  • Washington

    A five-month pilot, January to May 2024

    145 schools · approximately 47,000 students

    Strongest in Seattle, King County and the surrounding areas, integrated with existing SEL frameworks.

What students said

From the program evaluation. These are students reporting on themselves, which is what makes them worth quoting.

  • 71% learned to better recognize anxiety symptoms
  • 61% were more likely to realize if they or someone close to them was struggling
  • 59% reported knowing what to do if someone was dealing with anxiety
  • 62% felt other schools would benefit from a similar program
  • 43% reported being more open to talking about anxiety afterwards

Read the full 2017–2025 Impact Report (opens in a new tab)

Bring it to your school

There is no cost to apply, and no cost to your school if funded. Donors cover it.

Apply for your schoolFund a school