Global Day for Hope Supports 350 Million with Depression

May 18, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Kathryn Day of HOpe

iFred founder Kathryn Goetzke

The International Foundation for Research and Education on Depression (iFred) launched its first annual Global Day for Hope on May 2, 2015, to support the 350 million people living with the treatable disease of depression. Organizations and individuals from around the globe joined together in solidarity to plant sunflowers, the international symbol of hope, in an effort to raise awareness and educate the public on treatment for depression and help end the stigma that prevents so many people from seeking support.

Plantings took place in Nepal, Germany, South America, and across the United States, including Chicago, which served as the flagship planting event with support from the Chicago Park District. People of all ages shared messages of hope across social media, fueling the mission and inspiring a multitude of conversations promoting the importance of mental health care.

Global Day for Hope Group ShotGlobal Day for Hope helped kick off May’s Mental Health Awareness Month and recognized the tremendous acts of service being done around the world among mental health organizations. iFred thanks everyone who participated in the day’s events and wants to acknowledge the following organizations and speakers for their dedication and advocacy in mental health.

Day of Hope Main

 

 

Department of Public Words
Choices Magazine
 The Respite A Centre for Grief & Hope
The North Suburban YMCA
MHCA
Operation Second Chance
NCDAA
The Creative Coalition
Project Helping
Jefferson Center for Mental Health
Cats in the Bag
United Services, Inc.
Radio Sonengrau
Kathy Hart of Health with Heart
The Mood Factory  
Stiftung Deutsche Depressionshilfe
Positive Focus
Nepal Mental Health Foundation
Chicagonistas
Chicago Park District
Mental Health Services for Clark and Madison Counties, Inc. (MHS)

Special thanks to our Chicago speakers:

Screen Shot 2015-05-18 at 9.33.32 AMDr. Elizabeth Lombardo
Phyllis Foxworth, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
Joyce Marter, Urban Balance
Jessica Mead Catholic Charities LOSS Program
Dr. Eugene Lipov, Global Post Traumatic Stress Injury Foundation
Kathryn Goetzke, Founder of iFred
Penny Tate, iFred’s Schools for Hope Program
Debbie Muraff, Providing Yoga in the Park

Even though Global Day for Hope has already passed, the important conversations must continue… To that point, everyone is invited to share planting photos with @ifredorg and messages of HOPE using #hope2015. Depression is treatable and by working together we can take the necessary steps to live in a world where stigma no longer prevents anyone from receiving help.

Visit iFred’s social platforms here to view the inspiring images of hope being planted around the world.

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Filed Under: Depression, Events, Health, iFred, Inspiration, Mental Health, Movement for Global Mental Health, Suicide Prevention, Sunflowers, Youth Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
About Kathryn

Kathryn Goetzke has over 30 years of experience in marketing, branding, and strategy. She was recently appointed to be a representative at the United Nations for the World Federation for Mental Health. Kathryn is the Founder of iFred, the International Foundation for Research and Education on Depression, through which she created Hopeful Minds and Hopeful Cities, two programs dedicated to sharing the “how-to” of hope with children, parents, and communities globally. Kathryn presented at Harvard University, the World Bank, the United Nations, and the Never Alone Summit. Hopeful Minds was featured in a documentary by the BBC, and her products and projects have been featured in global media.

Kathryn is a Partner at Innovative Analysis, LLC, where she consults businesses on activating hope in the workplace, and created a college program Hopeful Mindsets, a marketing strategy and course for college students to activate hope on campus. She is the author of the Biggest Little Book About Hope and host of The Hope Matrix Podcast. In her role as Chief Mood Officer at The Mood Factory, she created the first nationwide cause marketing campaign for mental health through her brand Mood-lites, which achieved over 35M in retail sales. Ms. Goetzke serves on advisory boards for FundaMentalSDG, Y Mental Health, Women’s Brain Project, and the Global Mental Health Movement.

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