Wade Jefferson, a junior at the University of Southern California (USC), recently took that leap in order to help raise mental health awareness. In response to many of those struggles and deeply motivated by the heartbreaking suicides of two friends, he started the MIND club. The campaign’s goal is to break the stigma of mental health conversations and create those conversations where they are most accessible—especially with young adults.
She launched a GoFundMe campaign to fund the MIND club, initially with a low fundraising goal of $500. Either way, he expected the campaign to mostly attract the attention of the USC campus community. The campaign immediately picked up momentum, going well beyond their original goal of $10,000, raising over $100,000 in these donations.
Jefferson’s campaign has been a tidal wave of momentum. High-profile endorsements from former NFL players Peyton Manning and Emmanuel Sanders have helped fuel its popularity and impact. The campaign has been praised for its innovative approach to engaging the public in discussions about mental health, drawing comparisons to the “Ice Bucket Challenge,” which raised millions for ALS research in 2014.
Active Minds, a national organization committed to promoting mental health awareness to students, has already endorsed Jefferson’s move. Brett Curtis, director of community fundraising and events at Active Minds, expressed how powerful and promising the campaign has been so far.
“I think fundraising professionals and nonprofits and causes have sat around tables for years trying to say, ‘What’s going to be our ice bucket challenge,’” – Brett Curtis
As the campaign rides the wave of its success, it has attracted a good deal of media attention, including several features on NBC Nightly News. This exposure has helped raise awareness of mental health issues and fostered a dialogue about the importance of openness regarding mental health struggles.
While the ALS Association was most pleased that Jefferson’s campaign embodied the spirit of a grassroots, door-to-door campaign.
“We’re thrilled to see the spirit of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge live on in new forms of activism,” – The ALS Association