Expanding Mental Health Awareness X 2! With a donation of $35 or more, receive 1 FREE USC-MHS T-Shirt!

Your donation helps us bring increased mental health awareness training to sport communities AND when you wear the t-shirt we send you, you'll let everyone around you know it's ok to talk about mental health!*

We saved his life... You can help us save more!

Joseph is a baseball player who is here with us today because we reached him just in time. Joseph had been struggling with his mental health for some time, his arms were covered from scars from cutting, and he was making plans to die by suicide within the next day or two. But, when Joseph was in the audience for our ACT! Mental Health Awareness Certification at his school, he realized he could get help and didn't have to face his mental health challenges alone. We were able to connect him to professional support resources and he is now on the road to full recovery.

But there are many more "Joseph's" out there -- athletes, coaches, parents and others in sport who are struggling. With your help, we can expand our reach and continue saving lives!

Sport can change lives...

Sport has the potential to transform all of its participants. We believe that part of this transformation should include supporting the mental wellbeing of all involved so that everyone can reach their optimal mental wellness. Supporting mental wellbeing and providing interventions for mental illness takes a village.

Therefore, the US Center for Mental Health & Sport provides administrators, coaches, parents and athletes with resources they need to learn how to create a mental health supporting environment. We tap into leading edge research on mental health through partnerships with renowned research fellows and mental health organizations. We provide training so that our members can not only recognize the signs and symptoms that indicate someone may be experiencing mental health issues, but are also well-equipped to provide an environment in which all participants can thrive and appropriate support can be provided.

Unfortunately, sport is an environment where toughness is expected, fostering a strong stigma around mental health due to misconceptions that opening up about mental health issues could be admitting weakness. The truth is, WE ALL HAVE MENTAL HEALTH and that mental health lies somewhere along a continuum at any point in time. Talking about mental health is not a weakness, it shows strength in wanting to support wellness.

Together, we can SAVE LIVES that may otherwise be lost to suicide! We can also work together to bring life satisfaction and fulfillment to those who may otherwise suffer in silence with mental health challenges.

Your support could mean everything in keeping our sport community members with us and giving them opportunities to thrive!

What is the ACT! Certification?

Our ACT! Mental Health Awareness Certification is a groundbreaking program similar to a first aid course, but focused on mental health within the sport community. Designed for athletes, coaches, administrators, parents, officials, and anyone else in sport, the training provides essential tools to ACT! The course agenda is as follows:

With ACT!, we empower individuals to "ACT! on Mental Health" by starting conversations that reduce stigma and foster supportive sport communities. Together, we’re creating a culture of care, one training course at a time.

How Many Has ACT! Impacted?

In just the past year, we have positively impacted over 156,000 players, coaches, parents, and administrators through our mental health awareness programs. Our dedicated team delivered training to more than 5,000 sports program participants nationwide, equipping entire sport communities with the tools to recognize and respond to mental health challenges.

Looking ahead to 2025, we project to train at least 25,000 sports participants with an impact reach of at least 780,000 people. Funds raised will directly support these efforts, allowing us to expand our training programs and provide critical resources to create healthier, more supportive sport communities. With your help, we can make a lasting impact and save lives.

WE KNOW OUR PROGRAMS WORK, from anecdotal evidence, such as Joseph's story above and so many more that have been shared with us as a result of our training program. Imagine the impact you have if even ONE of your community members is kept safe through our programs -- and we know the impact goes far beyond ONE. In fact...

WE KNOW OUR PROGRAMS WORK, from the numbers. We consistently receive data that reflects positively on the learning that takes place in our programs. As an example look at the changes the ACT! Certification has made among recent participants, we have shared a chart below with data from the month of October at ten high schools throughout New Jersey. Participants were primarily students, but did also include some teachers, athletics coaches, and additional staff members.

For Giving Tuesday

HELP US continue to EXPAND THE IMPACT and SAVE MORE LIVES! Your help is so appreciated!