Latest News:

April 30 – May 4, 2012 – “Stress Less, Laugh More” campaigns at McLean HS, Langley HS and TJ – A Success! 

Interested students, counselors and administration worked together to implement the Active Minds “Stress Less, Laugh More” campaign in the week before AP exams, one of the most stressful times of the year.  The JAF was pleased to initially introduce the program to the three schools and along with their PTSAs and the Safe Community Coalition, help fund materials for the daily activities.

April 23 – 27, 2012 – Mental Wellness Week at South Lakes High School – A Success!

Students, counseling staff and administration collaborated on and implemented an entire week of programs to educate students on mental health issues.  Each day had a theme and targeted activities.  The JAF was pleased to fund Laugh More buttons, provide free yoga instruction for both staff and students and fund Jordan Burnham’s visit.

New articles:

May 2, 2012 –  “Helping Students Deal with Stress” by Alex McVeigh in The Connection.

May 9, 2012 – “Josh Anderson Foundation sponsors speaker during Mental Wellness Week” by Grace Erard in the South Lakes Sentinel (school paper).

April 24, 2012 – Jordan Burnham speaks to 800 students at South Lakes High School! 

Jordan Burnham, a young adult speaker from the Active Minds’ Speaker’s Bureau shared his story of struggling with depression/suicide attempt in front of 800 students at South Lakes HS.  Jordan Burnham has been featured in local and national print and broadcast news for his work with mental health and speaking, including Sports Illustrated, People Magazine, ESPN, CNN and Good Morning America, to name a few.  Kids were tweeting before and after his presentation.  This particular tweet says it all: it is people like @jfburnham who have the strength & courage to tell their story that give me hope that there is a life worth living.

South Lakes High School was Josh’s last school.  To read more, click here.

Upcoming Events:

  • Saturday, May 12, 2012 - Send Silence Packing - from 9am -6pm at the Pavilion area of Fairfax Corner  (11901 Grand Commons Avenue, Fairfax, VA 22030).  SSP is an award winning Active Minds display of 1,100 backpacks representing the 1,100 college students who die by suicide each year.  This powerful, moving display likened to the AIDS quilt, has been to 39 cities in 19 states since its inaugural display on the National Mall in Washington, DC in 2008.  We hope many will come and view this life-changing display. 

   Please view this moving YouTube video of SSP at its recent stop at UConn.

Spring Initiatives:

  • Stress Less, Laugh More – an Active Minds program modified for the high schools audience to be implemented in late April/early May, right before AP exams.  The goals are to 1) help kids acknowledge the stress in their lives and provide simple, fun, stress-reducing activities, 2) educate students on the difference between normal and debilitating stress and 3) highlight the presence and benefits of highly trained local resources such as the school psychologist and counselors.  The schools who are moving forward with implementing this program are:
    1. Langley HS
    2. McLean HS
    3. South Lakes HS
    4. Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Technology
    5. West Springfield HS
For more on Spring Initiatives, click here

Key Partnerships:

  • Active Minds, Inc. - a national organization dedicated to changing the conversation about mental health for the young adult audience.   To learn more, click here.
  • Fairfax Partnership for Youth, Inc - a local organization whose mission is to “Lead the Fairfax-area community to embrace positive, sustainable solutions to youth challenges.”
  • Safe Community Coalition – a local organization supporting activities that “bring together members of the community who have a stake in keeping youth safe to give them opportunities to connect, interact, and learn. We offer programs and resources that help parents and children in making positive choices.”

Past Events:

March 2012 – Successful fundraising events raised over $25,000!  We are so grateful for the love and support of all of our donors!