News

Brightn and Vive18 announce partnership to bring 24/7 student wellness support to prevention programs

Emilie Mauricio

March 19, 2026

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3 min read

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Emilie Mauricio | emilie@brightnapp.com
Cedar Rapids, Iowa — February 26th, 2026

Brightn, the AI-powered mental wellness platform delivering daily, preventive support, and Vive18, a youth prevention organization serving schools, coalitions, and youth organizations, today announced a strategic partnership to help schools extend prevention beyond assemblies into daily life.

Through the partnership, Vive18 schools and community partners can add Brightn as an easy-to-roll-out, app-based layer that gives students a private, stigma-free space for daily check-ins, guided journaling, resilience tools, and habit-building support, without adding staffing burden.

A shared mission: make support feel real, relevant, and always available

Vive18 has built its prevention model around choice-focused, fun, relatable experiences designed to engage students across age groups and community contexts. Brightn extends that mission between live moments by giving students an everyday tool they can return to after school, on weekends, and during the moments that matter most.

“Vive18 has proven that when you speak to students with respect, energy, and hope, they listen. But the real question is what happens the next day,” said Jeff Johnston, Founder and CEO of Brightn. “Brightn exists for that next day. As a father, I know how quickly a student can start struggling quietly. If my son Seth had access to something like Vive18 plus a daily tool like Brightn, it could have changed the trajectory sooner, before things piled up. This partnership is personal for me, and it’s exactly the overlap we’ve been building toward.”

“Youth drug prevention isn’t about saying no, it’s about saying yes to confidence, community, and coping skills.” Said Jake White, co-founder and CEO of Vive18. “Our partnership was a no-brainer. Brightn develops students in all three areas and has been proven to support positive outcomes for youth.”

“We know the one and done model is not sufficient. That's why at Vive18 we offer services and products to schools and coalitions that are designed to build on the progress and momentum we made in that community! What Brightn allows us to do is potentially reach every single student with a tool that is specifically designed to meet them where they are at! I couldn’t be more excited to offer this service to our existing and new partners!” – Zion Givens Director of Mental Health Initiatives and Outreach Coordinator at Vive18

‍From one-time events to daily habits

‍Vive18 delivers prevention through school assemblies, youth conferences, online courses, activities, workshops, and leader training. Brightn adds a continuity layer that helps students practice the skills they hear about in real time, with short daily actions that build resilience and self-awareness over time.

This partnership also creates new packaging opportunities for schools, including bundling Brightn access with Vive18 speaker engagements and add-ons, helping schools maximize impact without expanding headcount.

Momentum in schools and beyond

‍Brightn continues to expand through strong partners across healthcare and education, and is excited to support Vive18’s mission with a scalable layer of daily, 24/7 student support.

About Vive18

‍Vive18 is a youth prevention organization serving schools, coalitions, and youth organizations with transformational drug prevention programming. Vive18 equips communities with engaging, student-centered experiences and leadership development that make prevention relatable, hopeful, and actionable. Learn more at vive18.com.

About Brightn

‍Brightn is an AI-powered, preventive mental wellness platform that helps individuals and organizations move from reactive care to proactive daily support. Through clinically-informed design, guided journaling, daily check-ins, and personalized wellness planning, Brightn helps people build resilience and strengthen wellbeing over time. Learn more at brightn.app.

Press Contact: Emilie Mauricio | emilie@brightnapp.com

Vive18 Contract: Zion “Z” Givens | zion@vive18.com

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