Northwest College student Thea Farrington started the organization that would become Heart to Heart in honor of a friend.

Farrington’s friend Kema Jamal died in 2020 in a car accident while in the process of starting a dance studio.

“After she passed, at that point, I had just moved here,” Farrington recalled, noting that she’d also just been in a car wreck herself.

She was determined to keep Jamal’s name alive through a shared interest of theirs, fashion, and thus Kema’s Closet, a nonprofit to connect those in need with clothes, was born.

Seeing the need of many young people in the area for better mental health care, Farrington thought bigger, creating a board to start Heart to Heart that included, among other members, fellow NWC student Delaney Farmer and Farrington’s daughter, high school senior Tatiana Farrington, who takes classes at the college. Heart to Heart - WY is a 501c3 that works with youth and young adults living with mental illnesses. A big part of that is holding after school programs for kids to learn different ways to deal with stress, and connecting them to qualified therapists in the area.

“We have amazing therapists, but the problem is finding those therapists,” Farrington said. “We work with therapists one on one, know what they specialize in, know their demeanor.”

This way they can recommend the right one. And to provide even more good options, Farrington is planning to continue college in psychology to be a therapist herself.

In the meantime, she and her colleagues are working on the nonprofit, which recently got a boost.

In April, Heart to Heart received a $1,000 grant from the Ellbogen Foundation after the group won the community college team award in the John P. Ellbogen Entrepreneurship Competition at the University of Wyoming College of Business.

It was an award Farrington said she hadn’t considered until a UW professor spoke out about it in her small business class and her NWC business professor encouraged her to compete for it.

“I said, ‘I have a nonprofit,’ and she [the UW professor] said, ‘You need to apply for this,’” Farrington said. “She said, ‘What you do is exactly what the foundation is all about.’”

Farrington said just participating in the completion was a great experience, as the group was able to connect with others with similar nonprofits. And added to a grant from the National Alliance of Mental Illness, it served to be a big boost for the nonprofit.

“Within a year we’ve just been able to take off,” she said.

They hold a Monday after school program at Trinity Bible Church and have even been able to use the kitchen to hold cooking classes. The organization also holds an Art of Letting Go Wellness Retreat fundraiser where they invite people from the community to the TAG center for a full day of relaxation.

They’re also working on programs at the area libraries to connect with young people where they’re already comfortable. She said they’re always on the lookout for other partnerships.

“If anyone who works with kids thinks they could use a little bit more help, our services are free, just connect with me,” she said. “That’s our goal is to connect with as many kids that need help.”

For more information on the program, to request help or to donate, visit hearttoheartwy.org.