SAN FRANCISCO (APRIL 29, 2021) – Mental Health influencers and entrepreneurial duo, Jake Goodman and Zachery Dereniowski, announce four scholarship recipients for their $4,000 Mental Health Movement Scholarship on Bold.org. The announcement comes days before Mental Health Awareness Month in May, and each recipient will receive $1,000 toward their education.
Jake and Zachery initially launched the scholarship as a part of their overarching mission to destigmatize the conversation around mental health. Their organization, the Mental Health Movement (MHM), is a supportive community for those struggling with mental health. MHM creates supportive content through its Instagram and podcast. MHM also dedicates a portion of profits from clothing sales to charities such as the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
The MHM Scholarship was wildly successful on Bold.org’s platform, attracting thousands of applications Each applicant shared powerful testimonies about how mental health has impacted their lives. What started as a $3,000 scholarship in December 2020 quickly multiplied. The scholarship gained so many contributions that the amount increased from $3,000 to more than $4,000 — allowing Jake and Zachery to award a fourth winner.
MHM Founders, Jake Goodman and Zachery Dereniowski say, “Using Bold.org’s platform has helped us give back and continue our mission to fight the stigma around mental health. We were deeply moved by the thousands of applications we received. We’re honored to support the MHM Scholarship recipients ahead of Mental Health Awareness Month.”
Each recipient will use the scholarship to pursue their careers and alleviate their college debt:
Amanda Limburg, who is an ER nurse, says, “As a foster parent and ER nurse, I know that mental health is as important as physical health. My career has been all about helping others, especially during difficult times. The Mental Health Movement Scholarship will help alleviate my student debt as I continue my career supporting others.”
Kamryn Brown, who is studying pre-med, says, “With this scholarship, I will be able to continue my college journey and pursue my dream of going to medical school. I will become a part of the less than 1% of female African-American orthopedic surgeons, and I will be the first doctor in my family. This scholarship has given me a sense of financial stability when thinking about how I will pay for school, and I am forever grateful for that.”
Psychology student Kaitlyn Lunardi says, “It has never felt more critical to understand the best paths forward for mental healthcare than now. But, like most people these days, money is tight. Winning this scholarship means that I won't have to take out any loans for my next semester, and that I will have less debt to claw my way back from after I graduate. I hope to use the funds from this scholarship to propel my story and my passion into the world of psychological research.”
Anne Perrin, who plans to pursue political science in college, says, “I was honored to receive this scholarship, which will allow me to pursue my degree in political science, where I plan to continue to advocate for mental health awareness and suicide prevention.”
Zachery and Jake first met on Instagram while using their platforms to create mental health content. They have made an incredible impact through their mental health content on social media — garnering millions of views across TikTok alone. For more content around mental health, follow Jake (TikTok and IG) and Zach (TikTok and IG) on their personal social media channels. To join Bold.org in fighting America’s student debt crisis, donors and applicants can easily sign up and create a profile at www.bold.org.
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ABOUT BOLD.ORG
Bold.org is an organization committed to eliminating student debt and democratizing philanthropy. Founded in November 2019, Bold.org bravely embarks on a journey to relieve the country's soaring $1.8 trillion student debt crisis. Bold.org provides a platform for any person or company to create personalized scholarships, fellowships or grants. Financially backed by Mechanism Ventures, Bold.org pioneers a new industry by creating an innovative and philanthropic solution to combat the student debt crisis, which has tremendously impacted 44 million Americans to date.
ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH MOVEMENT
The Mental Health Movement was founded by mental health advocates, Jake Goodman and Zach Dereniowski. The entrepreneurial duo first met on Instagram while living across the world from one another. Both equally passionate about mental health, they began the apparel brand with one mission: destigmatize and normalize conversations about mental health. Every purchase of brand merchandise benefits mental health nonprofits and charities. Learn more about Mental Health Movement by following them on Instagram or by visiting mentalhealthmvmt.com to learn how you can contribute to the mission of destigmatizing mental health.