shavederek

WHY I SUPPORT ACTIVE MINDS

I've had the pleasure of being friends with Alison Malmon since our high school days as part of the same "lunch bunch" crew and both being active in student government. During our freshman year of college at the University of Pennsylvania, Alison's older brother Brian (then a senior at Columbia University) committed suicide. Just one year later, Alison turned her personal tragedy into an inspirational movement when she founded Open Minds (which later became Active Minds, Inc) to change the conversation of mental health issues on our college campus.

Today, Active Minds is the only organization working to utilize the student voice to change the conversation about mental health on 263 (and counting) college campuses across North America.

A few interesting facts:

• About 26% of Americans 18 and older live with a diagnosable mental health disorder
• Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among college students, claiming the lives of 1,100 students each year
• More than 90% of people who die by suicide have a diagnosable mental illness at the time of their death

To learn more about Active Minds, check out www.razoo.com/story/active-minds or www.activeminds.org

THE FUNDRAISING CHALLENGE

Working at Razoo has allowed me to interact with nonprofit leaders all over the US and around the world. As a company that aims to "live out" its own mission of transforming philanthropy, Razoo is holding an employee fundraising competition from May 17 to May 27. The first $250 in donations through this page will be matched dollar for dollar by Razoo.

...and the Active Minds Alumni Network is matching donations during the month of May (up to $2,010) in honor of the class of 2010.

MY PERSONAL CHALLENGE

Ohh, but it gets better...

As a further incentive--in case you're on the fence about making a contribution to this worthy cause--I will shave my hair off if at least 50 people donate $10 or more from May 17-27. Those of you who know me know how much I love my hair. This is how strongly I believe in the work of Alison Malmon and her team at Active Minds.

Update #1: Wednesday, May 19

21 donors and $605 contributed ($250 to be matched by Razoo and $605 to be matched by the Active Minds Alumni Network). That's $1,460 total for Active Minds so far!

Update #2: Friday, May 21

27 donors and $665 contributed ($250 to be matched by Razoo and $665 to be matched by the Active Minds Alumni Network). That's $1,580 total for Active Minds so far!

Update #3: Wednesday, May 26

45 donors and $920 contributed. 5 more donors before tomorrow at 12pm EDT and I get a new haircut!

Update #4: Thursday, May 27, 10am

47 donors and $940 contributed. 3 more donors before NOON and I get a new haircut!

Update #5: Thursday, May 27, 12pm

53 donors and $1,010 contributed. Looks like I'll be shaving my head! The best part about this is the money and awareness raised for Active Minds. A deep debt of gratitude to who supported.

Final Update: Tuesday, June 8

I shaved my head today! Check out the results here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=12880232&l=7cf094c0e2&id=793815135