HBC FOUNDATION ESTABLISHES SCHOLARSHIP FUND
The U.S. HBC Foundation, the charitable arm of Hudson’s Bay Company, has announced that it will award a $300,000 grant to benefit The Jed Foundation (JED) as part of a $6 million (CAD) commitment to mental health initiatives across North America by 2020. The HBC Foundation is dedicated to making mental health a priority in every community by increasing understanding and improving access to care.
The grant will establish the HBC Foundation Campus Scholarship Fund to support JED Campus – a nationwide initiative designed to help guide colleges and universities through assessing and building upon their existing student mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention efforts. As suicide is the second leading cause of death for young adults in the U.S., JED Campus takes a comprehensive approach to protecting emotional health and preventing suicide across college campuses nationwide.
Approximately half of all young adults with a mental health condition are not receiving adequate treatment, and mental health support tends to be underfunded among even the best colleges and universities. Dedicated to enhancing student well-being, the Fund will enable JED to increase their reach by over half a million students, working with more colleges and universities nationwide to invest in mental health resources and substance abuse programming. In addition to supporting these schools, JED Campus also brings the importance of mental health to the forefront of national attention.
“We are incredibly grateful to receive HBC’s generosity and support,” said John MacPhee, Executive Director/CEO of The Jed Foundation. “Their gift will help us work with more campuses to help develop and implement plans to better support the well-being of their students by strengthening their policies, programs and systems around mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention.”
The HBC Foundation announced the launch of the HBC Foundation Campus Scholarship Fund at a Get With The Times event on Thursday, November 29th. Get With The Times is The New York Times’s live event series that explores provocative issues college students face today. Hosted at Tufts University in Boston, the HBC Foundation awarded its first scholarship to the Tufts campus. The event also featured a conversation with five-time NBA All-Star and champion, Kevin Love, and Sports of The Times columnist, Juliet Macur, about Love’s personal mental health journey.
