We must actively address the mental health impacts of the past year and start by empowering educators who are on the front lines caring for our young people.
NEW YORK (PRWEB) May 10, 2021
This Mental Health Awareness Month, Born This Way Foundation is supporting youth mental health by partnering with DonorsChoose, a nonprofit crowdfunding platform for U.S. public school teachers. Starting today, Born This Way Foundation will match $250,000 in donations to teacher requests on DonorsChoose that directly address students’ mental health needs.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the country’s reckoning with racial inequity, along with a host of other overlapping crises, have widened the educational inequity gap in schools, and expanded the need to provide more mental health resources. In a Fall 2020 survey of parents of children aged five to 12 years, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 22% of respondents said their children’s mental or emotional health worsened since March 2020. Parents whose children were experiencing fully virtual or hybrid school environments at the time of the survey were more likely to report this decline in mental health than parents whose children were experiencing in-person learning. To help teachers support their students’ mental health, Born This Way Foundation is inviting the public to donate to teacher requests at DonorsChoose.org/bornthiswayfoundation.
“We must actively address the mental health impacts of the past year and start by empowering educators who are on the front lines caring for our young people,” said Cynthia Germanotta, president and co-founder of Born This Way Foundation. “We want to join teachers in helping to improve student well-being, encourage healthy conversations about mental health that will further reduce the stigma around the topic, and connect students to the resources they need.”
Born This Way Foundation and DonorsChoose have collaborated since 2017 on highlighting public school teachers whose projects on the nonprofit site emphasize their students’ mental and emotional well-being. In the summer of 2020, the two organizations partnered to support teachers as they and their students were adapting to the effects of COVID-19 on learning environments and preparing for a challenging school year ahead. As part of this partnership, DonorsChoose created a new “Mental Health” category for teachers to select when they publish requests for classroom and virtual needs. As this year’s Mental Health Awareness Month approached, Born This Way Foundation and DonorsChoose felt it was especially important to continue their collaboration and focus both on students who are grappling with an uncertain time and on teachers who take central roles in their lives.
“Born This Way Foundation has been a tremendous support to DonorsChoose teachers requesting mental health resources for their students,” said Charles Best, CEO and founder of DonorsChoose. “Just as the creation of a new project category motivated educators last year, this match during Mental Health Awareness Month will continue to inspire teachers to support their students’ well-being.”
To contribute to Born This Way Foundation’s $250,000 match on DonorsChoose, visit DonorsChoose.org/bornthiswayfoundation.
ABOUT BORN THIS WAY FOUNDATION
Born This Way Foundation, co-founded and led by Lady Gaga and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, supports the mental health of young people and works with them to create a kinder and braver world. Through high impact programming, youth led conversations, and strategic, cross-sectoral partnerships, the Foundation aims to make kindness cool, validate the emotions of young people, and eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health. Learn how the Foundation encourages people to practice kindness toward themselves and their communities at bornthisway.foundation.
ABOUT DONORSCHOOSE
DonorsChoose is the leading way to give to public schools. Since 2000, more than 4.7 million people and partners have contributed $1 billion to nearly 2 million teacher requests for learning resources and experiences. As the most trusted crowdfunding platform for teachers, donors, and district administrators alike, DonorsChoose vets each request, ships the funded resources directly to the teacher, and provides thank yous and reporting to donors and school leaders. Charity Navigator and GuideStar have awarded DonorsChoose, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, their highest ratings for transparency and accountability. For more information, visit http://www.donorschoose.org.