FOUNDATION BENEFICIARIES
WE SUPPORT CHARITIES WHICH ARE ENGAGED IN COMBATING SUICIDE AND/OR SUPPORTING GRIEVING FAMILIES AND FRIENDS, INCLUDING:
HealGrief
HealGrief recognizes that community no longer has geographical boundaries. Capitalizing on social media behavior, HealGrief redefines the way individuals reach family and friends, and show support after a loved one dies. HealGrief.org, providing a virtual community where individuals can find support, connect, heal and memorialize their loved ones.
TEEN LINE
TEEN LINE was created in 1980 by a group of mental health professionals who, through their personal work with teenagers, realized that a more inclusive approach to adolescent mental health was needed. After extensive research and consultation, TEEN LINE – a teen-to-teen hotline with community outreach services – was born.
Active Minds
Active Minds is the leading nonprofit organization that empowers students to speak openly about mental health in order to educate others and encourage help-seeking. We are changing the culture on campuses and in the community by providing information, leadership opportunities and advocacy training to the next generation.
Our House Grief Support Center
Grief is a natural reaction after the death of someone close. Yet in our society few people are prepared for the intensity and duration of the grief process. OUR HOUSE grief support center was founded on the premise that grievers need understanding, support, and connection. If you or someone you care about is grieving, we are here to help.
Didi Hirsch
With more than 70 years of experience, Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services transforms lives by providing quality mental health care and substance use disorder services in communities where stigma or poverty limit access. From 11 sites and in nearly 100 schools, the agency helps over 90,000 adults and children throughout Southern California each year.
The Trevor Project
Founded in 1998 by the creators of the Academy Award®-winning short film TREVOR, The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people ages 13-24.
FROM ACTIVE MINDS
Active Minds is the leading national organization that uses young adults as the driving force to change the perception about mental health. With more than 400 student-led chapters and educational trainings at colleges and high schools across the country, Active Minds is working to ensure every young adult is educated and empowered to speak openly about mental health and to get the support he or she needs. The organization was founded in 2003 by Alison Malmon, then a student at University of Pennsylvania, following the suicide of her only sibling, her brother Brian Malmon. For three years in college, Brian had kept symptoms of his depression and psychosis secret out of fear and shame. He finally sought treatment his senior year, but took his life just a few months later at age 22.
Over the past 12 years under Alison’s leadership, Active Minds has become the premier organization providing advocacy training to more than 10,000 students every year – and changing the conversation about mental health in our nation’s schools and communities.
In early 2015, Alison was lucky to connect with Ron Silverman and Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation. After seeing Active Minds’ suicide prevention program highlighted on NBC Nightly News, Ron chose to designate Active Minds as the beneficiary of the 2015 Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation Golf Tournament. From funds raised at the Tournament, ten (10) Los Angeles-area high schools will receive suicide prevention and mental health trainings in fall 2015. Specifically, each school will be able to host a stop of the award-winning Send Silence Packing® suicide prevention program, hear from a professional young adult speaker from the Active Minds Speakers Bureau about getting help for mental health struggles, and receive technical support to start their own year-round Active Minds chapter.
Active Minds is so honored to partner with Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation, and to benefit from its incredible financial support. In mental health, sometimes the most difficult obstacle is convincing others that they should devote their philanthropic dollars to this pervasive – but highly stigmatized - cause. Ron Silverman and his Foundation know all too well about the tragic consequences that can result when young adults don’t get the help they so desperately need and deserve. Because of his tribute to his son and the incredible fundraising program he’s put together, Active Minds will be able to get life-saving information to thousands of students in Los Angeles this year, and we couldn’t be more grateful.
The Active Minds Board of Directors, Student and National Advisory Committees, on-campus student and staff leadership, and small national headquarters staff is so thankful to the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation for your incredible support!
All the best,
Alison Malmon
Founder and Executive Director
Active Minds
FROM TEEN LINE
For over thirty years TEEN LINE, a teen-to-teen hotline with an extensive outreach program, has been at the forefront of helping troubled adolescents cope with many issues and concerns including self-injury, bullying and suicide. Our trained teens answer calls, emails and texts non-judgmentally, helping their peers explore options and offering referrals to community resources or, many times, just listening.
Following the tragic death of his 18 year old son Matthew, who had taken his own life, we met Ron Silverman. Despite his own devastation he became involved with TEEN LINE to work towards a common goal – provide a resource for teens in crisis and to raise awareness about suicide. Ron Silverman volunteers his time as a speaker for TEEN LINE and he is a vital part of the suicide prevention and sensitivity training TEEN LINE provides to the LAPD Juvenile Division and other adolescent-serving agencies. In April, 2014 Ron spoke in a special Teen Suicide Prevention presentation at the American Association of Suicidology Annual Conference. This event is attended by participants from programs dealing with suicide both nationally and internationally. Ron and the TEEN LINE teen suicide prevention break-out session received an outstanding evaluation.
To honor his son’s memory, Ron Silverman created The Matthew Silverman Memorial Golf Classic and designated TEEN LINE to be a beneficiary. This inaugural event took place on April 22nd, 2013 at El Caballero Country Club. 130 golfers participated in the tournament, netting nearly $300,000 to directly support TEEN LINE’s programs. The Second Annual Golf Classic occurred on April 21st, 2014. This, too, was an outstanding success. TEEN LINE is indebted to Ron, his Committee and the Charity Angels for their hard work and dedication which is enabling us to expand our important community service. The funding provided by the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation has allowed TEEN LINE to launch a cyber outreach program by creating a new website and a resource app, produce a teen suicide prevention video that is receiving amazing reviews from all who have viewed it, and provide Strategic Planning and leadership guidance to help guide the future of TEEN LINE.
The TEEN LINE Board of Directors, staff and volunteers are incredibly grateful to Ron Silverman and the Matthew Silverman Memorial Golf Classic Committee and the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation for the support they raised for our hotline, outreach efforts and programs. We cannot thank the sponsors and donors enough for helping TEEN LINE to remain a valuable resource for teens in crisis that rely on our services and an incredible experience for the teens that volunteer.
THANK YOU!
Elaine Leader, Ph.D.
Executive Director
TEEN LINE is a 501(c)(3) Non-profit Organization
Federal Tax Identification #95-3760982
FROM HEALGRIEF
HealGrief helps individuals through the grieving process from the moment a loved one dies. Recognizing that community is no longer defined by geographical boundaries, HealGrief starts by taking the place of the traditional obituary notice. Users create a funeral notice, disseminate it to family and friends around the globe and gain instant comfort as friends and family begin to share their condolences, light virtual candles and share memories, transforming the funeral notice into a celebration of the decedent's life.
When HealGrief first had the privilege to meet with the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation, Matthew’s father, Ron truly understood the importance of having the ability to memorialize and celebrate a loved one’s life. Ron recognized the relevance of HealGrief and its work serving thousands of bereaved individuals, families and those looking to support them.
As a proud beneficiary of the 2014 Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation’s Golf Tournament, HealGrief has increased its user base over 480%. HealGrief has developed community candle gallery pages. HealGrief has developed a HealGrief Blog. HealGrief is developing its “Designing your own good-byes” section. HealGrief offers free funeral notices. HealGrief has been a resource to HLN readers and has been a published resource in various publications.
HealGrief’s significant growth and outreach was made possible due to the generosity of Ron Silverman, Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation and their team.
It is with their generosity that all of the functionality, information and resources continue to be free-of-charge and unlike others, HealGrief will not require a fee to sustain a memorial. Individuals, even years later, are lighting virtual candles and sharing thoughts and memories, almost as if they were actually writing to their loved one.
HealGrief continues to provide a platform offering bereaved individuals an opportunity to transition their grief into a healthy grief recovery.
Thank you Ron,
Fran Solomon
President & Founder