The Jed Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Jed Foundation is a non-profit organization
working to reduce the rate of suicide
and the prevalence of emotional distress
among college and university students. It is the largest such effort in the United States and it has partnered with the government program, Suicide Prevention Resource Center, to develop and spread suicide prevention
strategies.
, ended his life after struggling with college life. The organization works in collaboration with the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, set up in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Half of Us is a Peabody Award
-winning awareness campaign launched in 2006. Partnered with mtvU
and over 1,300 colleges, the program discusses the statistic that half of all college students struggle with depression at one point during their college career. Many celebrities, including Mary J. Blige
, Pete Wentz, and Brittany Snow, participated in the effort.
Love is Louder is a widespread outreach program started by actress Brittany Snow and MTV after a number of highly profiled teenage suicides caused by bullying in September 2010. A number of celebrities including some who had been personally affected by bullying in their youth, spoke out openly in videos broadcast on mtvU and YouTube
. In 2011, Demi Lovato
, Miley Cyrus
, and Victoria Justice
teamed with Seventeen
magazine to join the campaign to help teenagers cope with personal struggles.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
working to reduce the rate of suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
and the prevalence of emotional distress
Emotional distress
Mental distress or anxiety suffered as a response to a sudden, severe, and saddening experience.Emotional distress may refer to:* Law of torts:** Intentional infliction of emotional distress** Negligent infliction of emotional distress* Medicine:...
among college and university students. It is the largest such effort in the United States and it has partnered with the government program, Suicide Prevention Resource Center, to develop and spread suicide prevention
Suicide prevention
Suicide prevention is an umbrella term for the collective efforts of local citizen organizations, mental health practitioners and related professionals to reduce the incidence of suicide....
strategies.
History
The Jed Foundation was founded in 2000 by Donna and Phil Satow after their son Jed, a college sophomore at the University of ArizonaUniversity of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, ended his life after struggling with college life. The organization works in collaboration with the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, set up in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Campaigns
ULifeline was The Jed Foundation's first program to help colleges address the problem of suicide among college students. The program creates an easier way for college students can find information regarding mental health.Half of Us is a Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
-winning awareness campaign launched in 2006. Partnered with mtvU
MtvU
mtvU is a division of Viacom's MTV Networks which produces a 24-hour television channel that is available on more than 750 college and university campuses across the United States, as well as several digital cable packages...
and over 1,300 colleges, the program discusses the statistic that half of all college students struggle with depression at one point during their college career. Many celebrities, including Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige
Mary Jane Blige is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She is a recipient of nine Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards, and has recorded eight multi-platinum albums. She is the only artist with Grammy Award wins in Pop, Rap, Gospel, and R&B. Blige has...
, Pete Wentz, and Brittany Snow, participated in the effort.
Love is Louder is a widespread outreach program started by actress Brittany Snow and MTV after a number of highly profiled teenage suicides caused by bullying in September 2010. A number of celebrities including some who had been personally affected by bullying in their youth, spoke out openly in videos broadcast on mtvU and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. In 2011, Demi Lovato
Demi Lovato
"She’s got the range, the full emotional spectrum, incredible control… Vocally, she’s the best thing Disney’s had since Christina Aguilera."—Producer Toby Gad on Demi Lovato's vocals...
, Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus
Miley Ray Cyrus is an American actress and pop singer-songwriter. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana....
, and Victoria Justice
Victoria Justice
Victoria Justice is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and dancer. She debuted as an actress at the age of 10 and has since appeared in several films and television series including the Nickelodeon series Zoey 101 and Victorious...
teamed with Seventeen
Seventeen (magazine)
Seventeen is an American magazine for teenagers. It was first published in September 1944 by Walter Annenberg's Triangle Publications. News Corporation bought Triangle in 1988, and sold Seventeen to K-III Communications in 1991. Primedia sold the magazine to Hearst in 2003. It is still in the...
magazine to join the campaign to help teenagers cope with personal struggles.