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Check Out Natalie Salvatierra’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Salvatierra. 

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Natalie Salvatierra, and I am from Orange County. In 2020, during the midst of COVID, I founded my own mental health organization called Solely Sunshine where anyone around the world can write a virtual letter of encouragement on my website that gets transcribed by my team of over 100 teen volunteers and mailed to mental health facilities across the United States. Two years ago, when my organization first started, VoyageLA featured me, and it is an honor to be featured again and to be able to reflect on the growth of Solely Sunshine. In my previous feature, about 2 months after starting my organization, I had only mailed 100 letters to mental health facilities. Today, I have mailed over 20,000 letters of encouragement written from people in nearly 60 countries. In July of 2020, I also published a children’s book called, “Do Not Worry, Little Donkey” which is available on the Barnes and Noble website. Over the past two years, numerous organizations and schools across the US have partnered with (or promoted) Solely Sunshine including Marvel, UGG, Baskin-Robbins, Invisalign, and more. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I first started Solely Sunshine, it was hard to encourage people to write letters for my organization because it is volunteer-based. Over time as more people started to volunteer, the word about Solely Sunshine spread and more and more people began writing letters. Soon, more people were writing letters than I could personally transcribe! Having a great deal of participation is a great problem to have though. When I began to receive more than 100 virtual messages a week that need to be transcribed to paper, I knew I had to transition to forming a team of people that could volunteer to help me transcribe and package the letters to mail to mental health facilities. With the much-appreciated help of Girl Scouts, Assistance Leagues across Orange County, and schools, I am able to maintain the intake of virtual letters coming in, and the sending of the transcribed letters out to mental health facilities. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am just an 18-year-old! I started my organization and wrote my children’s book when I was 16-year-old. This proves that no matter your age you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Managing school and my organization has been challenging at times but it is so so worth it. I am so appreciative for all the support I have gotten from friends, family, organizations, and businesses that have encouraged people to make a difference through Solely Sunshine. 

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I think time management as a college student, author, and founder of an organization is important. Using a calendar is definitely a must for me. I also find connecting with other kids and teenagers, along with business professionals, on Instagram and LinkedIn to be super beneficial in staying motivated and inspired for continuing to be determined to improve the well-being of others. 

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