2026-2027 TASC State Service Project
Connect Beyond Limits!

The Why -
The State Project is needed because: 

• Loneliness is most common among the current generation of young people (National Institute of Health) and is associated with physical illness and early death (Harvard University).
•  Student connection creates an environment in which mental health grows, substance abuse decreases, and other risk behaviors drop. (Center For Disease Control)
• The Alliance for Student Activities has ready-to-use infographics with statistics that highlight key student issues and the benefits of addressing them. Click the link to access a variety of resources for your awareness campaigns and data to support connection work. (Alliance For Student Activities)
• When you allow every student to feel seen, heard, and celebrated you create a more unified environment within your school, which then spreads across the whole state.
• We want every student, no matter their passion, to not feel the need to “fit in,” but create a sense of belonging that doesn’t require us to change who we are.

Goals - 

LIMITS: Self Awareness, Fixed Groups, Peer Limitations, & Burnout

OVERALL GOAL: Foster an inclusive school community where every student feels valued, connected, and emotionally supported. 
We hope to increase connection by reflecting on the following “limits”:

Self Awareness: The ability to understand yourself, your thoughts and emotions, and your value. 

1. Depression
2. Anxiety
3. Trouble interacting with peers
4. Trouble engaging in social and academic life

GOAL: Encourage every student to accept who they are and recognize their inherent value, which shapes their confidence and ability to interact with daily life.

Fixed Groups: The structural networks that organize students, like formalized activities, unspoken social rankings, and the practices that shape a student's identity and school experience.

1. Perceived Status within social groups
2. Informal social cliques
   

1. Keeping the existing social structures

GOAL: Transform the school environment into an inclusive, fluid community where belonging is based on shared interests and personal growth rather than perceived social status or rigid hierarchies.

Peer Limitations: Individuals within the school that provide barriers to creating new connections.

1. Measuring your level of success with others
2. Looking down on others who are doing “less” than you
3. Fixating on others who have the “same” level of success as you

1. Academic pressures for perfection
2. Peer Acceptance
3. Physical image & social media status

GOAL: Establish environments that create communication pathways for students who otherwise wouldn't talk, breaking the limits of societal pressures and mitigating the effects of comparison and assumptions.

Burnout: A state of physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion caused by ongoing stress and pressure.

1. Empathy Burnout
2. Decision fatigue
3. Cognitive fatigue 

1. Academic pressures
2. Familial pressures
3. Societal pressures

GOAL: To establish sustainable boundaries and self-care systems that actively reduce a student's cognitive load and rebuild their emotional wellness.

REPORT GOALS:

• At least 80,000 service hours dedicated to projects that help serve, educate, and advocate for increased connection within our schools and communities. (86528.25)
• At least 1700 social media posts tagging @tasc_stuco and using #Connect4TASC, which will share resources, projects, and awareness related to the state service project. 
• Share at least 1,000 resources, activities, and opportunities that strengthen connections among students and foster a welcoming school community.
• Facilitate at least 1,000  projects that create meaningful interactions and community-building experiences that help students develop relationships and feel connected to their school.
• Reach at least 800,000 people through initiatives that promote connection, inclusion, and belonging. This may be measured through participation in events, workshops, advisory activities, school programs, peer-led initiatives, and engagement through social media and other outreach efforts.
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