IAM Strong Foundation Opens Fall Grant Cycle

The IAM Strong Foundation, which seeks to shatter the stigma surrounding teen mental health struggles, is pleased to announce the 2017 Fall grant cycle.

Grant applicants must be non-profit organizations or affiliated individuals who share a vision that aligns with the values and mission of the IAM Strong Foundation. The IAM Strong Foundation welcomes grant applications from all local communities.

The IAM Strong Foundation grant cycles began in the Fall of 2015, and since that time, almost $100,000 have been awarded in grants and programming. This past spring, ten grants were awarded, to organizations including Doc Wayne Youth Services, to provide sports-based group therapy to help youth with mental health struggles, Hale Reservation, to fund a teen workshop focusing on wellness themes, Norwood High School, to create mindfulness corners for students with social and emotional difficulties, Walpole High School, to fund an organizational tool for all freshman with an emphasis on emotional and mental health and to support a film festival featuring films on mental health topics, and Ashland Public Schools, to fund training for counselors and staff in the SOS Signs of Suicide Prevention Program.

The IAM Strong Foundation began in January of 2015 and since its inception has made great strides in opening the conversation about adolescent mental health. Each Fall the IAM Strong Foundation presents a free speaker event surrounding living with mental health struggles; past events have featured singer songwriter Meg Hutchinson and nationally acclaimed comedian Kevin Breel. The organization also sponsors an annual Messages of Hope event, where people of all ages gather at the Westwood Senior Center to compose uplifting messages for teens that receive inpatient mental health treatment. In the Spring of 2017, the IAM Strong Foundation was a key sponsor of the 2017 Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Partners in Prevention Wellness Summit, Teen Mental Health Summit, and Faces of Addiction Conference.

The Fall grant cycle opens on August 1st and will close on October 1st. Grant applications for up to $2000 will be considered, and grant recipients will be notified on or before November 1st. Grant applications and details about the grant process are available at www.iamstrongfoundation.org. Email grants@iamstrongfoundation.org with any questions or requests for further information.