In partnership with The Jed Foundation, we’re so excited to grant 10 amazing changemakers $25,000 each to fund their ideas that help strengthen the community and promote positive mental health.
Meet this year’s recipients and get to know their projects.
Laurel Tamayo
Healing Lahaina ― @healinglahainafilm
The documentary Healing Lahaina centers on the stories of survivors of the 2023 Lahaina wildfire. The film discusses themes related to extreme weather events and mental health, as told through stories of those directly impacted. Through the personal recounts of three generations of Director Laurel Tamayo’s family, it paints an intimate portrait of survival, climate change, and colonization and how a community finds strength and resilience through healing. The film team will also lead an impact campaign to encourage community members to have an open, intergenerational discussion on mental health and community rebuilding.
Bethanie Couri
The Hero Door Opener ― @wehearyouASL
Co-founded by Bethanie, We Hear You is a multifaceted accessibility technology start-up, innovating solutions for people with physical exceptionalities. The company’s newest innovation is the Hero Door Opener, a portable, accessible door hinge that makes all doors ADA-compliant. By breaking down physical barriers, Bethanie and her team provide ease of mobility and independence to people with physical exceptionalities, fostering inclusive and supportive communities everywhere.
Diana Chao
Letters to Strangers ― @L2SMentalHealth
Letters to Strangers seeks to destigmatize mental health conditions and increase access to affordable, quality treatment, particularly for young people worldwide, through letter-writing exchanges, science-informed education, and grassroots advocacy. The nonprofit’s impact is nuanced, culturally sensitive, and driven by passionate young people wanting to make change from the ground up.
Eva Maria Lewis
BLOOM in the Hood Summit ― @freerootoperation
Bloom in the Hood Wellness Summit will be a free two-day event in Chicago engaging Black women and single moms impacted by poverty-induced gun violence in wellness activations, critical conversations, presentations, and giveaways to equip them to practice wellness at home. The Summit is being hosted by Free Root Operation (FRO), a nonprofit organization started by Eva Maria to provide programming that centers on self-love, mental wellness, and nourishment as methods to usher families into well-being.
Lexi Hopkins
Shades of Strength ― @wellnessncolor
Lexi is using her training as a suicidologist to create Shades of Strength, a much-needed virtual community for Black women+ whose lives have been touched by suicide. By creating a space for conversation and support specifically for Black women+ who have experienced suicidal thoughts or behaviors or have been affected by the loss of someone to suicide, Shades of Strength seeks to break the silence surrounding suicidality in the Black community while harnessing the power of collective healing that is deeply rooted in the history of Black communities.
Caeley Looney
Princesses with Powertools ― @reinventedmagazine
Through the Princesses with Powertools program, professional women in STEM volunteer to teach young girls how to use their first power tool: a hand drill. To date, its “princesses” have taught over 15,000 girls nationwide, and 100% of them have walked away feeling confident and excited to continue learning about engineering concepts. Caeley aims to expand the program to more underserved communities in the future as part of her mission to inspire, engage, and elevate girls and women in STEM.
Molly Smith
Mission Mariposa ― @mission.mariposa
Molly is using her personal experience as a cancer survivor to create Mission Mariposa, an online community of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors coming together to empower each other in fighting the disease, share stories, and destigmatize conversations around their cancer diagnoses. By releasing its anthem film, distributing care packages, creating relatable content, and sharing resources, Mission Mariposa seeks to build a youth-led, survivor-built platform that supports cancer fighters through treatment and beyond.
Starla Sampaco
Career Survival Guide ― @careersurvivalguide
Career Survival Guide supports women and professionals of color by teaching them self-advocacy strategies for the workplace and initiating discussions on career topics through a gender/racial equity lens. It offers corporate workshops, video interviews, and tips on social media. It focuses on populations that often face bias and inequitable barriers to career opportunities, especially those who may be the only employee of a marginalized identity at their workplace or on their team. Career Survival Guide creates a sense of community by validating that these early- to mid-career professionals are not alone in their experiences and anxieties.
Jennifer Truitt
LGBTQ+ PEACE Project ― @lgbtqpeaceproject
The LGBTQ+ Psychotherapy Empowering Activation and Community Engagement (PEACE) Project will research how loneliness and social connection affect the well-being of young adults who are marginalized based on their sexuality or gender. As part of the project, free therapy and additional mental health resources will be provided to help them better understand loneliness, mental health, and the relationship between the two. This project will offer treatment to LGBTQ+ individuals who might otherwise not be able to afford it and aims to not only serve its participants but also enable future therapists to provide more effective treatment.
Corissa Barrow
The MIND Project ― @mindtexas
The Mental Independence and Nurturing Development (MIND) Project aims to increase mental health education and resource access for Hispanic American individuals transitioning to adulthood. Its mission is to equip diverse emerging adults with the skills, knowledge, and support necessary to achieve mental autonomy and resilience. Through Mobile Mental Wellness Hubs, group-based workshops, and collaborations with local organizations, the MIND Project seeks to advance the inclusion of Hispanic emerging adults in living meaningful and sustainable lifestyles.