This Year's Charity:

tiThe Jed Foundation is a nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults, giving them the skills and support they need to thrive today…and tomorrow, by building resiliency and life skills, promoting social connectedness, and encouraging help-seeking and help-giving behaviors through our nationally recognized programs, digital channels, and partnerships, as well as through the media. JED strengthens schools by working directly with high schools, colleges, and universities — representing millions of students — to put systems, programs, and policies in place to create a culture of caring that protects student mental health, builds life skills, and makes it more likely that struggling students will seek help and be recognized, connected to care, and supported. The organization mobilizes communities by providing education, training, and tools to families, friends, media, and others. They’ve helped over 1,200 schools, districts, and campuses launch evidence-based programs that give students the tools they need for lifelong mental wellness, which means they are making these connections with over 6.5 million students, with over 250,000 people visiting their  Jed Mental Health Resource Center online every month. For more information, visit their website at  www.JEDFoundation.org.

This year's choice is R.A.I.N.N. (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network). RAINN is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE, online.rainn.org and rainn.org/es) in partnership with more than 1,000 local sexual assault service providers across the country and operates the DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense. RAINN also carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help survivors, and ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. Over the past 30 years, RAINN has helped over 4.5 million survivors and their loved ones by providing aid, resources, and information to help life move forward for people who unfortunately have suffered from such traumatic experiences. For more information, check out the organization's page at www.rainn.org or on various social media @rainn. 

The Trevor Project is the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention nonprofit organization for LGBTQ+ young people. They provide information & support to LGBTQ+ young people 24/7, all year round. The Trevor Project aims to decrease risk factors and increase protective factors related to suicidal behavior among LGBTQ+ young people through strategies that impact all behavioral levels of influence including crisis services, peer support, advocacy, research, education, and increasing public awareness.