Active Minds Announces its 200th Campus Chapter

April 29, 2009 (Washington, DC) – As the 2009 spring semester comes to a close at colleges across the country, Active Minds is celebrating an historic milestone – its 200th campus chapter.

Active Minds at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) in Tallahassee, FL joins the Active Minds network as the organization expands to have a presence on 200 campuses nationwide. FAMU is one of eleven institutions in Florida’s State University System and the only publicly funded Historical Black College or University in the state.

“We weren’t aware of Active Minds until we got involved with a research grant, but the more we learned about Active Minds, the more excited we became” said Cindy Joseph, a founding member of Active Minds at FAMU. “Now we are excited about setting the standard for increasing awareness of mental health issues on HBCU campuses across the country!”

In 38 states plus the District of Columbia and Canada, Active Minds serves as the largest resource for college students seeking to educate their peers about issues of mental health and mental illness. In the past six years, the campus program has engaged over a thousand young adult mental health advocates and has reached hundreds of thousands of students with educational and awareness-raising programming. Within the past six years Active Minds has seen its number of chapters grow exponentially from one chapter at University of Pennsylvania to 200 campuses across North America.

“We’re particularly proud to reach this milestone with a chapter at FAMU, which is one of 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States,” said Alison Malmon, founder and executive director of Active Minds. “This chapter represents our continuing dedication to reflect the diversity of college students in America. We look forward to partnering with Active Minds at FAMU as we continue our efforts to serve and reach students of color across the country, whom we know often face particular and unique barriers to seeking and receiving mental health care.”

Plans are in place to expand Active Minds to 300 college and university campuses by the end of 2010. While expanding, Active Minds will continue to foster diversity in campus chapters and encourage a wide array of view points and backgrounds among members.

About Active Minds

Active Minds is the only nonprofit organization dedicated to broadcasting the student voice to educate college students about mental health. On nearly two hundred campuses, with thousands of student leaders and advocates working diligently to raise awareness and promote mental health, Active Minds is reaching students through the implementation of turn-key programs that decrease stigma, bring about awareness, and ultimately create positive and accepting environment for the discussion of mental health issues.

As liaisons between their peers and college counseling centers and the mental health community, Active Minds’ student leaders provide information about available resources on-campus, online and in the community, educate students about mental health and mental illnesses, host events to raise awareness, and encourage students to seek help as soon as it is needed. Active Minds chapters and volunteer student members work to shine a positive light on mental wellness, and create an accepting environment where each student has the capabilities and support to thrive.