Please consider making a donation today to support The Sophie Fund’s work on mental health initiatives aiding young people in the Ithaca and Tompkins County communities. Sophie would have turned 30 on August 23 this week, and we are marking the occasion to launch our 2022 fundraising appeal.
To Make a Donation:
Current goals in need of funding include:
—Funding United in Kindness community events in October for Bullying Prevention Month.
—Funding training in mental health and suicide prevention for clinicians, social workers, and community members.
—Collaborating with student organizations to campaign against sexual assault on college campuses.
—Hosting our 7th Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest to raise awareness about mental health (In person again this year, in the Ithaca Commons October 15.)
A few highlights of The Sophie Fund’s work since our last fundraising appeal in 2021:
Zero Suicide Initiative. We hosted a series of five presentations and trainings for Tompkins County healthcare leaders, primary care physicians, clinicians, and social workers to advance an evidence-based model of suicide care.
My Mental Health Resources. The Sophie Fund created a quick guide to local mental health resources downloadable to smart phones.
A Parent’s Guide to College Student Mental Health. We published a resource pamphlet to help families navigate mental health challenges their students may face.
Tompkins County Bullying Prevention Task Force. The Sophie Fund is the coordinator of a community task force to combat youth bullying. The task force sponsored “What to Do About Cyberbullying,” a United in Kindness symposium featuring national and local experts on digital media and school climate.
Make Kindness Go Viral! The Sophie Fund funded and organized a student art and essay contest hosted by the Tompkins County Bullying Prevention Task Force.
Tompkins County Suicide Prevention Coalition. The Sophie Fund chaired a work group that wrote the coalition’s Three-Year Strategic Plan 2022-2025 guided by a vision “for a community where no lives are lost to suicide” and using data, science, and collaborations to implement effective strategies.
Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest. We hosted the sixth annual contest (virtual edition, due to Covid-19). The contest brings together college and high school students, mental health providers, local businesses, and the general public to raise awareness about mental health.
Mental Health First Aid. The Sophie Fund provided grants to Tompkins Cortland Community College and the Mental Health Foundation to provide training to clinicians, students, and community members.
Breaking Our Silence: Storytelling for Mental Health. The Sophie Fund sponsored a series of film, theater, dance, literature, music, and other activities “to increase empathy, build understanding, and help lift the shroud of shame and secrecy around mental illness.”
Delia Divided. The Sophie Fund sponsored the Civic Ensemble ReEntry Theatre Program’s premier of a play exploring the impacts of mental health, incarceration, and racism.
Ithaca College Interns. We hosted two interns from Ithaca College during the 2021-22 academic year to write about mental health for our website: Matt Minton and Jordan Mast.
For more information on The Sophie Fund’s work, please visit:
Thank You!
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