NAMI Certification April 2022

The Community of Peace and Love and NAMI California Mount Eden becomes certified by the NAMI CA, National Alliance of Mental Illness California, the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. Co-presidents of NCME, Ruchita Verma and Pabi Constantino became NAMI certified after engaging in deep, authentic, and brave conversations. Their passion for being life long advocates of mental health shined. 

The Community of Peace and Love and NAMI California Mount Eden presented about social justice, student voice and leadership in mental health at Cal State East Bay Univeristy in the Educational Leadership for Social Justice Doctoral Program. In their passionate presentation, they spoke about their own stories and their mission to end mental health stigma in our community. 

The Social Entrepreneurial Mindset with Vanita Lee-Tatum and Ruchita Verma

The entrepreneurial mindset has been a big buzzword over the past few years. It is about having a set of effective beliefs, work ethics, and values to help you stay resilient in pursuing your dreams and goals when times are tough to keep pushing forward. But what about the social entrepreneurial mindset? Get Your Impact On's co-hosts Naiomi Israel and Tiffany Yau interview Vanita Lee-Tatum, an educator, business developer, and artist, and one of her top students from Mount Eden High School, Ruchita Verma. Ruchita created The Community of Peace and Love, an organization focused on supporting teens in their mental health journey. 

Click Photo on Left to Listen to the Full Episode on Spotify!

The Community of Peace and Love earned the Que Phillips Social Impact Award at the 2021 National FulPitch Challenge by FulPhil, a a 501(c)3 non-profit that seeks to empower youth with social entrepreneurship education. 

"The Community of Peace and Love is a platform made to combat stigma around mental health for adolescents, which Verma created after the experience of almost losing a close friend. 'Ruchita Verma is an exemplary young entrepreneur who has modeled the attributes of leadership, passion, creativity, and commitment,' says Vanita Lee-Tatum, Mount Eden Entrepreneurship Teacher. This school year Ruchita has done an amazing job of achieving high levels of success in her academics while developing and leading a mental wellness community for youth.' The Que Phillips Social Impact Award was created to inspire students to create a meaningful social impact on their communities at scale. Big congratulations to Ruchita Verma for showing that community always have a place in the business world!” (FulPhil). 

Click Photo on Left to Read Article by FulPhil: Founder Feature: Ruchita Verma and The Community of Peace & Love

Young DancePreneurs on the Rise with Ruchita Verma

"Dancing is about more than just movement... It’s about being comfortable in your own skin. Seeing and feeling the beauty in life.  Making connections!  And knowing that you deserve to take up space.  On episode #101 of the Dance Boss Podcast, I got the chance to sit down with a young Dancepreneur on the rise. Ruchita Verma is a 15-year-old dancer and online business owner who lives by the mantra “Inspiration! Not comparison!” We dive into her life, her business, and how she balances it all. This goes to show that you are never too young, too old, too anything to put good into the world!  Ruchita was amazing to talk to.  She truly inspired me.  So tell me friend, what inspires you?" (Erin Pride of Dance Boss Podcast) 

Click Photo on Left to Listen to the Full Episode on Spotify!