OUR STORY

Welcome to My Friend Abby,

I have been an advocate for youth and young adult mental health and suicide prevention
for the past few years. I am extremely grateful for the positive response to My Friend Abby,
a non-profit organization* created in the spirit of my daughter Abby Anderson, my beautiful 15-year-old who took her life due to clinical depression. My heartbreak and loss have driven me
to make a difference.

Our mission is simple, to "empower youth and young adults to actively create peer to peer connections through grants that improve mental and emotional health."

A Grants-Based Organization

My Friend Abby will award grants to youth and young adults who are willing to take action and make a difference in the arena of mental health, mental illness and suicide prevention--and this revolution can’t come soon enough.

Most people are shocked to learn that suicide is the second leading cause of death for individuals between the ages of 15 to 24. Many young adults live in the shadow of mental illness with shame. One in five youth aged 13 to 18 experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life, and mental health experts agree that the number one reason adolescents do not receive treatment is the stigma that still surrounds mental illness.

My Friend Abby will be inspiring a mental health revolution...one friend at a time...and I do hope you will join me on this exciting journey of hope and wellness.

Sincerely,

Gillian Anderson
Founder and Chairman of the Board
My Friend Abby, Inc.

The Story Behind the MFA Sunshine Logo
and #37 and #38

The inspiration for MFA came from Abby’s friends in the days, months, and years following her loss. Abby’s friends showed such character and strength of spirit in the way they came together for each other. The determination shown by all those young people who spoke up about the unspeakable and took action together led to MFA's call to action -- “Inspiring a Mental Health Revolution…One Friend at a Time!”

Abby was such a ray of sunshine to everyone she interacted with, and we just knew we wanted to use a sun in the design of the logo for MFA.

During the start-up phase of the organization, Abby's friend Jill sent a special photograph. Jill explained that Abby had come over after school one day to cheer Jill up when she was sad. Abby decided to paint a sunshine on Jill's hand and for some reason Jill took a picture of it and kept it.

Jill found the picture a few years later and went to an artist who turned it into a tattoo for her. She shared that every time she looks at that sunshine that Abby painted, it brings her much happiness. We knew right away that this would be our logo for My Friend Abby and an integral part of the MFA brand! This painting has become the symbol for all of us to #37HelpOthersInABigWay and #38LiveAHappyLife, two items in an aspirational list Abby wrote for a class assignment the day before she died.

Jim McCaffrey, Abby’s teacher, read her entire aspirational list and recorded it on YouTube as a tribute poem to Abby entitled "Your Culminating Assignment." You can listen to it here complete with Jim’s commentaries.

My Friend ABBY, Inc.
Board of Directors

Stephen Corman, Community Leader and Healthcare Advocate

Charlotte Hommel, Senior Sales Consultant and Mental Health Diplomat Enterprise Community Lead at Johnson & Johnson

Herbie "Mack" McKelvie, Mental health advocate, suicide prevention keynote speaker and host of the Just Believe Show

Curt Kuliga, CEO and Founder of the Progressive group of healthcare companies (Progressive Health Dynamics, Progressive Institute and Progressive Diagnostics)

Bob Evangelista, Provider Communications Manager at Healthfirst, strategic marketing and communication design

Paul Angelucci, Residence Hall Director and Mental Health Counseling Graduate Student
at Iona University

Sylvia Beckerman, CEO and Founder at Life Après and podcast host

Marji Schmidt, Executive Producer, Create3, Inc., multimedia production company

My Friend ABBY, Inc.
Committees and Chairpersons

Clinical Advisory Committee
Chair: Jessica D. Hoffmann, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Yale Child Study Center, Director of Adolescent Initiatives, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence

Grants Committee
Chair: Fiona Hodgson, Fundraising Consultant, Housatonic Community College Foundation

Marketing Committee
Co-Chairs:
Marji Schmidt, Executive Producer, Create3, Inc., multimedia production company
Bob Evangelista, Provider Communications Manager at Healthfirst, strategic marketing and communication design

Young Adult Committee
Chair: Emma Bayuk, CT Veterinary Technician

My Friend Abby, Inc. is a US 501 (c)(3) public charity,