Allstar Nation Tour to Launch 50-District, Eight State School Tour; Debuts Emotional Video

HOUSTON - Jan. 15, 2019 - PRLog -- The Allstar Nation Tour (https://youtu.be/QKHnJIDY1d4) (ANT), the nation's only school concert assembly program focused on mental health improvement, has added about 50 school districts across eight states over a 13-week tour starting January 21 in Orange County, Calif.  Through this tour, ANT is expected to reach an estimated 200,000 students and faculty, nearly double its total impressions, and impact nearly a half-million students and faculty since 2014.

The Allstar Nation Tour is a nonprofit community service effort created to save lives through the experiences and testimonies of nationally known musicians and speakers. Music artists from popular national television shows such as The X-Factor, The Voice, and American Idol among others share their real-life stories reflecting upon the perils and obstacles they faced as students and music artists during a 75-minute concert assembly. Between stories, artists perform popular music live to energize and uplift students.

Based in Houston, ANT has debuted a new video (https://youtu.be/QKHnJIDY1d4) that features emotional and compelling testimonial from artists and students. The video is the first in a series to come and serves as a platform for students to tell their stories through ANT's #TELLYOURSTORY campaign.



In the video, one student confesses, "I don't know how to put up with it anymore." Drew Ryn (Ryniewicz) - a finalist and fan favorite on the debut season of The X-Factor – explains, "It's always interesting to look back on the fact that I was their age and I felt that terrible and it does feel like it's the end of the world."  She adds, "It's ok to have anxiety, it's okay to have depression, it's ok to be sad, as long as you know there is another day for you to live."

The Allstar Nation Tour begins 2019 by visiting districts in Orange County including the Santa Ana Unified School District, Capistrano Valley School District, Anaheim Union High School District, Fullerton School District and Saddleback Valley School District. After Orange County, ANT will greet students in Las Vegas; Phoenix, Indianapolis; Nashville, Akron; Washington D.C.; Philadelphia; and conclude in New York Friday, June 21. Additional tour locations will be added later this year when school resumes in August.

"We are facing real challenges in schools across the country, said ANT founder Dillon Smith. "The mental health of students must be a priority, and we are committed to helping students realize their potential, no matter what situation they are facing."

According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, 50 percent of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by the age of 14 and 75 percent by the age of 24. Half of students age 14 and older with a mental illness drop out of high school. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in youth ages 10-24 and 90 percent of those who died by suicide had underlying mental illness.

Since debuting in 2014, the Allstar Nation Tour has exploded in popularity having attracted schools from around the country. The organization has visited about 200 schools in Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, and Nevada performing and speaking to more than 230,000 students and faculty.

The tour relies on funding from private donations and corporate sponsorships. For tax deductible donations or to sponsor ANT program assemblies and materials, visit www.allstarnationtour.com or call 713-562-1708. To schedule a school assembly, email booking@allstarnationtour.com.