Active Minds and Snap Inc. Announce New Multi-year Partnership

Washington, D.C. – Active Minds, the nation’s leading nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness and education for young adults, is excited to announce a new multi-year partnership with Snap Inc. This partnership will support the expansion of Active Minds chapters at community colleges, HBCUs, and high schools to reach a larger number of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ students. 

In addition to the long-term goals of the partner, Active Minds and Snap have partnered to create new resources to help increase access and awareness to mental health resources within the app.  Here For You, Snap’s in-app mental health resource hub, was recently updated to give users unique ways to start conversations with friends and family. These resources are promoted to Snapchatters when they search mental health terms like anxiety, depression, and stress on Snapchat and are designed to be easily shared with close friends and family to help support one another. 

“Active Minds is excited to partner with Snap and Club Unity to help us reach more young adults with life-saving messages where they are – online,” said Alison Malmon, founder and executive director of Active Minds. “By sharing authentic stories, exploring new resources, and facilitating certifications on easy ways to talk about mental health through our Validate-Appreciate-Refer® (V-A-R) method, we’re honored to help to change the conversation and culture around mental health in a profound way.” 

To kick off the partnership, Active Minds and Snap are working with Club Unity, Snap’s new board of leading actors, dancers, singers, and athletes to support Gen Z voices, to host the virtual Club Unity Summit on Oct. 16, 2021.  This Summit will connect undergraduate students with resources, support, and a chance to interact with their peers about mental health. Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to become certified in Active Minds’ V-A-R method. 

The first-ever Club Unity Summit will feature members from Snap’s Club Unity, which consists of humanitarian and former fashion model Halima Aden, musicians and actresses Chloe x Halle, actor Ricky Thompson, Atlanta Hawks basketball player Trae Young, and dancer Maddie Ziegler, coached by Snap Original star Yusuf Omar. 

In addition to Club Unity representatives, the Summit will also feature Active Minds Student Advisory Board member and Arizona State University Active Minds Chapter member, Jaiden Singh. 

“Six years ago I lost my close friend to suicide. This loss, along with my own experiences, have shaped how I view mental health as a pressing topic within my family, school and community. It also propelled me to start an Active Minds chapter at my high school to let others know that they are not alone and that help is available,” said Jaiden Singh, student at the University of Arizona. “I’m grateful for the opportunity from Snap and Active Minds to participate in the Club Unity Summit to share the message that your mental health matters and to provide life-saving resources and techniques, like V-A-R, with a larger audience.”  

“Social media, when used properly, is an amazing tool to help young adults foster connection, share ideas and resources, and create lasting change. It’s also an important tool in suicide prevention and mental health advocacy. In fact, 67% of young adults will tell a friend first if they are feeling suicidal before telling anyone else. This partnership with Snap will create lasting change in the lives of countless young adults,” said Malmon. 

More information on the Active Minds and Snap partnership can be found here.  

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About Active Minds: Active Minds is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness and education for young adults. Active Minds has a presence on over 800 college, university, and high school campuses nationwide, and is powered by a robust Chapter Network, the nationally acclaimed Send Silence Packing® display, and inspiring Active Minds Speakers. The organization is dedicated to ending the silence and changing the conversation about mental health for everyone. To learn more, visit www.activeminds.org.

 

Contact: Amanda Horn, Active Minds
amandahorn@activeminds.org, 202-332-9595 X103