Engagement
The Maddie Fund provides direct financial aid to national, regional and local nonprofit organizations and programs that are dedicated to supporting teens, young adults and their families, who are dealing with mental illness. Since its inception in 2020, The Maddie Fund has donated over $750,000 to numerous nonprofit organizations and programs that provide services and research in support of Mental Health and Wellness.
The Maddie Fund is a non-profit is a 501(c)(3) fund. Over the last four years, The Maddie Fund has received generous financial support from hundreds of people and foundations who are passionate about supporting Mental Health. Donations to the fund are tax-deductible, and 100% of the donated money goes directly to support mental health and wellness programs. The Maddie Fund continues to encourage new and repeat donations, which can be made by visiting this link: https://trust360.my.salesforce-sites.com/pmtx/dn8n__SiteDonation?id=a3E0h000001bdvQ
The Maddie Fund has been particularly focused on helping to fund existing and new programs that support people who are suffering from anxiety, depression and bipolar depression. This site provides regular updates on The Maddie Fund’s donations and initiatives so that donors are able to see the tangible results of their generous support.
Some, but not all of the programs that The Maddie Fund is currently supporting are highlighted below.
See How Your Donations to The Maddie Fund Have Helped
Mental Health Association of Westchester (https://www.mhawestchester.org/)
The Mental Health Association of Westchester (MHA) is a non-profit organization providing treatments, therapies and walk-in support to people suffering from mental illness via locations throughout Westchester County, NY. Maddie regularly volunteered for the MHA’s Sterling Community Center in White Plains. Since 2020, The Maddie Fund has provided annual financial support to the MHA for the Sterling Community Center’s walk-in services and for its OnTrack program, which helps get young adults with behavioral disorders back “on track” with their lives through clinical and support services, substance abuse treatment, social skills training, family support and education.
University of Michigan Depression Center (https://depressioncenter.org/)
The University of Michigan Eisenberg Depression Center (UMDC) in Ann Arbor, MI is the first of its kind devoted entirely to bringing depression into the mainstream of medical research, translational care, education and public policy. UMDC is at the forefront of how depression and bipolar illnesses are understood and treated. Since 2021, The Maddie Fund has provided annual funding to the UMDC, specifically to support the Prechter Bipolar Research Innovation Fund and to support the UMDC’s Peer-to-Peer (P2P) student counseling and therapy programs :
The Prechter Bipolar Research Innovation Fund (https://medicine.umich.edu/dept/prechter-program/) scientific investigation of bipolar disorder and the extension of bipolar research.
Through its Peer-to-Peer (P2P) program (https://depressioncenter.org/p2p), the UMDC has been at the forefront of engaging directly with middle schools and high schools and their faculties to support mental wellness programs in the schools. These programs provide education on anxiety and depression and the training and support for the faculties and students so they are able to engage with and support their peer students who are suffering from these illnesses.
Also, in 2022 The Maddie Fund provided a multi-year financial commitment to the University of Michigan to support a new initiative in the college of LSA to hire full-time staff, dedicated entirely to organizing and overseeing programs and resources to support the mental health and wellness of Michigan students.
Rye Youth Council (https://ryeyouthcouncil.org/)
The Rye Youth Council (RYC) is a wonderful, non-profit organization that engages, educates and empowers youth, strengthens family, and builds community through a variety of programs in Maddie’s hometown of Rye, NY. Since 2020, The Maddie Fund has supported the RYC with a multi-year financial commitment to help fund their efforts to expand and enhance mental health and wellness programs for the Rye community. Most notably, the funding has helped the RYC to work with the Rye public schools to launch and cultivate a new Peer-to-Peer (P2P) mental health support program in the Rye Middle School and the Rye High School, with implementation and training support from the staff of the University of Michigan's Depression Center. Since its inception, Rye's P2P program has blossomed and has had the active participation of more than 200 students, raising aweness of mental illness and providing a peer-based support network for mental health and wellness.
The funding also supports the parents, teachers and coaches in the community by strengthening the referrals to existing mental health resources and expanding free prevention and awareness training programs such as the Youth Mental Health First Aid (YMHFA).
Student Sponsor Partners ("SSP" https://sspnyc.org/)
Student Sponsor Partners ("SSP") was established in New York City in 1986 to help the City’s most vulnerable youth escape the cycle of poverty and reach their highest potential. SSP currently provides high school scholarships to over 1,100 students in 23 high schools across the City. All of the SSP students live below the poverty line, which subjects them to conditions that frequently produce heightened levels of mental and emotional stress.
Beginning in 2021, with financial support of The Maddie Fund, SSP launched its own mental wellness program to support students in underserved communities. Now in the third year, with continued annual support from The Maddie Fund, this program includes training the SSP team in Mental Health First Aid; partnering with organizations in the mental health space to host webinars and workshops to raise awareness and provide mental health resources for students, families, and mentors; and working with a clinical social worker to lead psychoeducational group sessions for students. SSP continues to build on its mental wellness initiative, especially as the organization is looked to as a central resource across New York City's five boroughs.
Summer Camps:
Camp Echo (https://ymcacampecho.org/)
Candlewood Fishing Camp (https://candlewoodfishingcamp.org/)
Summer camp programs have been proven to provide very positive experiences and helpful therapy toward managing social anxiety and stress for teens and pre-teens. Being outdoors and active in nature, away from social media and screens is often a new and needed experience for many kids, especially those from urban areas. In supportive, structured environments, summer camps can foster new friendships and create memories and lessons that stay with campers for life.
Since 2020, the Maddie Fund has provided annual funding to send more than 50 needs-based campers each year to summer camp programs. In particular, The Maddie Fund has worked closely with Camp Echo in Fremont, Michigan, which is a nonprofit overnight summer camp run by The McGaw YMCA of Evanston, Illinois, and the Candlewood Fishing Camp, which is a nonprofit overnight fishing camp on Candlewood Lake in New Fairfield, Connecticut.
In addition to funding camp fees for needs-based campers, The Maddie Fund has collaborated with both of these camps to help develop and support their mental health and wellness support and education programs for their campers.