COLUMBUS, Ohio – Christy Chacko, a graduate student at the University of Southern California, is the 2022 recipient of the Big Lots Behavioral Health Scholarship—a scholarship made possible by Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Big Lots, an Ohio-based home discount retailer.
Originally launched in 2019, the Big Lots Behavioral Health Scholarship is awarded to a student who plans to pursue, or is currently pursuing, a graduate degree in the fields of behavioral or mental health, social work, or psychology. Recipients of the award receive $10,000 towards their education.
Chacko is currently earning her master’s degree in social work and maintains a 4.0 grade point average. As a member of the Indian community, Chacko aims to be an advocate for young Indian men and women; she hopes to help facilitate open discussions about mental health so that her community can continue to thrive without the fear of expressing themselves. Ultimately, Chacko wants to break the stigma associated with mental health in Asian communities.
Additionally, Chacko is an advocate for vulnerable populations. She is the only Indian woman member of Bergenfield ELKS Lodge #1477, where she works with children with exceptionalities, honors the heroes of our country, and advocates for mental health resources in her community. Through her internship with Job Corps, a federally funded program through the Department of Labor that services at-risk youth, Chacko helps provide educational and vocational training services; she enjoyed running a mentorship program called “Sista 2 Sista” that specifically mentors young women.
"The scholarship committee's recommendation of Ms. Chacko as the 2022 recipient is an acknowledgement of her drive and passion for serving underrepresented communities,” said Bruce Thorn, president and CEO, Big Lots and member of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital board of directors. “We were all very impressed with her dedication to breaking stigmas and providing mental health resources to those in need, goals strongly aligned with the work of the Big Lots Foundation.”
Big Lots and the Big Lots Foundation have been devoted supporters of the hospital’s mission to be the leader in pediatric mental and behavioral health wellness, care and research. In 2016, Big Lots and the foundation committed $50 million to support the building of the Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion, which opened in March of 2020, and Big Lots Behavioral Health Services at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Additionally, Big Lots has been a pivotal partner in the launch and growth of On Our Sleeves®, the movement for children’s mental health.
“Big Lots’ generosity is changing children’s lives right now, but it will also make a difference for generations to come,” said Tim Robinson, CEO of Nationwide Children’s. “The field of children’s behavioral health needs dedicated professionals. The Big Lots Behavioral Health Scholarship is making it easier for Christy and people like her to achieve their goal of helping families.”
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About On Our Sleeves®
Children don’t wear their thoughts on their sleeves. With 1 in 5 children living with a significant mental illness and half of all lifetime mental health issues starting by age 14, we need to give them a voice. On Our Sleeves, powered by behavioral health experts at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, aims to provide every community in America with free resources necessary for breaking child mental health stigmas and educating families and advocates, because no child or family should struggle alone.
Since the inception of On Our Sleeves in 2018, more than 2 million people have interacted with our free pediatric mental health educational resources at On Our Sleeves and our educator curriculums have reached more than 3 million students across the United States.
About Big Lots
Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Big Lots, Inc.(NYSE: BIG) is one of America’s largest home discount retailers, operating more than 1,440 stores in 48 states, as well as a best-in-class ecommerce platform with expanded fulfillment and delivery capabilities. The Company’s mission is to help customers “Live Big and Save Lots” by offering unique treasures and exceptional bargains on everything for their home, including furniture, seasonal decor, kitchenware, pet supplies, food items, laundry and cleaning essentials and more. Big Lots is the recipient of Home Textiles Today's 2021 Retail Titan Award. For more information about the company or to find the store nearest you, visit biglots.com.
About Nationwide Children's Hospital
Named to the Top 10 Honor Roll on U.S. News & World Report’s 2021-22 list of “Best Children’s Hospitals,” Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of America’s largest not-for-profit free-standing pediatric health care systems providing unique expertise in pediatric population health, behavioral health, genomics and health equity as the next frontiers in pediatric medicine, leading to best outcomes for the health of the whole child. Integrated clinical and research programs, as well as prioritizing quality and safety, are part of what allows Nationwide Children’s to advance its unique model of care. Nationwide Children’s has a staff of more than 13,000 that provides state-of-the-art wellness, preventive and rehabilitative care and diagnostic treatment during more than 1.6 million patient visits annually. As home to the Department of Pediatrics of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Nationwide Children’s physicians train the next generation of pediatricians and pediatric specialists. The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital is one of the Top 10 National Institutes of Health-funded free-standing pediatric research facilities. More information is available at NationwideChildrens.org.