In 2010, Eric Windeler and Sandra Hanington founded "The Jack Project". The project was named after their son, Jack Windeler, who had died by suicide when he was 18 years old. In Jack Windeler's parting letter, he asked for his parents to help others. The fund raised almost $1 million that was used to expand existing health initiatives. They decided to formally launch the Jack Project in April 2010. By July 2010, Eric Windeler had left his software company to work on the Jack Project full-time. They also host 200 students annually at a national summit in Toronto, which is the largest youth-led mental health conference. In May 2018, Ben Sabic — Chair of Kids Help Phone's National Youth Council — led a partnership with Jack.org and the council, to support the organization's "We Are Ready campaign". Through posts across
Facebook and
Twitter, the goal was to generate greater awareness around the campaign.
Royal Recognition On October 1, 2016,
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge accompanied 18 youth mental health advocates from Jack.org on a sailing ride on the
Pacific Grace. The Duke and Duchess have made a priority of dispelling the stigma around mental health, as evidence by their campaign, Heads Together. As such, the pair has commended Jack.org on their efforts in the youth mental health space. Prince William has continued to show his support for the organization and made a video appearance at the 2018 Jack Summit.
Be There In 2019, Jack.org launched an online mental health resource for young people in Canada called Be There. The resource was launched as part of Mental Health Week, a nationwide initiative by the
Canadian Mental Health Association. == References ==