Members of the local fundraising nonprofit Give Where You Live voted at last week’s meeting to grant this quarter’s funds — totaling $6,000 — to Ethan’s Purpose, a foundation established to address mental health and suicide prevention.
Ethan’s Purpose was established after Debbie and Richard Zegarra lost their 16-year-old son, Ethan, to suicide in 2018.
They made it their mission to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. Ethan’s Purpose was started with donations from the community, along with part of Ethan’s college fund. The foundation supports local schools’ efforts to support students who have anxiety, depression, grief, and struggle to fit in socially. They help provide individual and group counseling and supply schools with social emotional learning curriculum for their students.
“These meetings are always a wonderful opportunity to learn more about Northern Kentucky’s nonprofits,” President and CEO of Horizon Community Funds Nancy Grayson said. “We heard a very impactful pitch for Ethan’s Purpose and look forward to seeing what more they can do with this grant.”
Ethan’s mother and founding member of Ethan’s purpose, Debbie Zegarra, said the grant from Give Where You Live came at a crucial time. As a teacher in Boone County, she said she witnessed firsthand the challenges students faced, like stress, anxiety, and grief, when returning to in-person learning after the pandemic.
“The focus of Ethan’s Purpose has always been promoting good student mental health by supplementing what school counselors and psychologists are already doing by providing small group counseling and supplies for book clubs promoting self-awareness and emotional regulation,” Zegarra said. “Suicide is preventable and by raising awareness through education and supporting the youth in our community, together we can make a difference. Thank you to the members of Give Where You Live for recognizing and supporting our mission and helping us to keep the conversation going.”
Give Where You Live NKY is a joint initiative by Horizon Community Funds of Northern Kentucky and Mueller Financial, Inc.
Its format lends itself to community members who are looking for an easy way to give back to nonprofits that serve Boone, Campbell, and Kenton counties. Participating members nominate a nonprofit of their choice, and three names are randomly selected and briefly discussed by the group. The members then vote on their favorite of the three organizations, and each member contributes $100 for the grant to the winning organization. This takes place four times a year.