HIKE for Mental Health directors Tom Kennedy (left) and Leo Walker (right) present Brain & Behavior Research Foundation president and CEO Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D., with a $6,187 check.

HIKE for Mental Health Raises $6,000 for mental health research

Nonprofit hiking group presents check to the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation

Great Neck, New York, January 14, 2013:  On January 14, HIKE for Mental Health, a New Jersey 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, presented the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation with a check for $6,187.20. The funds were raised on seven hikes conducted in 2012.

“Twenty-six hikers, supported by more than 100 sponsors across North America, came together to help reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and to raise money for better treatments,” explains HIKE for Mental Health co-founder Leo Walker, “We are proud to present our 2012 mental health research award to the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.”

HIKE for Mental Health was founded in 2011 to raise awareness of and funds for scientific research into major mental illnesses.

In presenting the check, HIKE for Mental Health vice-president Tom Kennedy stated, “We are inspired by the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation’s commitment to alleviating the suffering caused by mental illness by awarding grants that will lead to advances and breakthroughs in scientific research.”

Accepting the donation for the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation was Jeffrey Borenstein, M.D, Acting President and CEO. “We are thrilled that HIKE for Mental Health selected our organization as the recipient of its 2012 award. As with all contributions for research that we receive, 100% of the donation will be invested in NARSAD Grants to increase understanding of and improve treatments for disorders such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and autism.”

Also benefiting was the New York –New Jersey Trail Conference, which received a check for $1,546.80. “While our focus is mental health research,” states Walker, “we designate a fifth of what we raise to preserve wilderness trails.”

For more information about HIKE for Mental Health and to see the 2013 hike schedule, visit www.hikeformentalhealth.org.

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A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2011, HIKE for Mental Health sponsors fundraising hikes to increase awareness of and raise funds for scientific research into the causes, treatments and cures for mental illness. Their hikes also increase appreciation for hiking and wilderness trails. All donations to HIKE for Mental Health are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by the IRS. For more information, visit www.hikeformentalhealth.org or email inquiries@hikeformentalhealth.org.

The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation has been awarding NARSAD Grants for 25 years. The Foundation has invested close to $300 million in NARSAD Grants to more than 3,300 scientists worldwide since 1987, leading to thousands of scientific achievements to improve the lives of those with mental illness. Visit www.bbrfoundation.org for more information.