In conjunction with National Mental Health Awareness Month, Virginia Tech Athletics and the Hokie Club are pleased to announce a special giving campaign to support the Sport Psychology program and its Counseling and Athletics Mental Performance (CAMP) staff.
The goal of this fundraising effort is to supplement the overall CAMP budget, which provides counseling services, team consultations and other resources for student-athletes to enrich their mental health during their time at Virginia Tech.
With your philanthropic support, you have the opportunity to make a lasting impact on the mental wellbeing of our student-athletes here at Virginia Tech. Click here to support the Sport Psychology and CAMP staff as they help to change young people's lives for the better.
"We really strive to create an environment where student-athletes feel comfortable enough to address their mental health with our sport psychology staff," said Danny White, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Services & University Affairs. "They do exceptional work to make sure our student-athletes can improve and maintain their mental wellness in order to have the best possible experience at Virginia Tech."
The CAMP program is led by Dr. Gary Bennett, Associate Athletic Director of Sport Psychology and dedicated servant of Virginia Tech since 1995. In addition to coordinating CAMP, Bennett provides individual counseling to Hokie student-athletes, consults coaching and training staff on student-athletes' needs and is on-call 24 hours for almost 600 Virginia Tech student-athletes.
"It's immeasurably important for us to assist student-athletes in their journey to enhance their mental wellbeing," said Bennett. "We want to be able to ensure our student-athletes have all of the resources necessary to make strides on that same journey while they are in Blacksburg."
Student-athletes at Virginia Tech are actively seeking to improve their mental health through CAMP. Their staff also provides team-building sessions to improve chemistry, as well as support groups and mindfulness workshops.
Emma Atkinson, an All-American sophomore swimming student-athlete, noted the importance of the CAMP staff to her development both in the pool and in her everyday life.
"Everyone strives to be the best versions of themselves they can possibly be," said Atkinson, who finished sixth in the country in the 200 back at the 2022 NCAA Championships. "CAMP allows me to comfortably open up and talk about my mental health issues, and with the help and support that CAMP provides, I know that I can be that best version of myself."
Mekhi Lewis, the only NCAA champion in Virginia Tech Wrestling history, echoed Atkinson's praise of CAMP and how instrumental the program has been in his athletic and personal life.
"Meeting with a member of the CAMP staff contributed a lot to my success this season," Lewis said, who was named ACC Wrestler of the Year in 2022. "My counselor helped me think about all aspects of my life and helped me work on having more positive days than negative. I was truly grateful to be able to work with my counselor this year."
This program is instrumental for student-athletes to find success in their own mental health journeys before they can ultimately triumph in competition. Rachel Baxter, the NCAA Indoor Champion at the pole vault in 2022, gave CAMP credit for helping her confront some of the challenges she faced.
"As student-athletes, being able to talk to someone outside our sport is important, and our sport psychology staff is willing to help day or night," Baxter claimed, a few months after becoming the first-ever student-athlete to win four straight ACC indoor event titles. "They know what it's like to be a student-athlete and I'm so thankful to have all the resources that we have."