A New Look — and a Look Back — For Face It
It is so very hard to believe that Face just celebrated its 6th birthday this past July! Well what better birthday present for our organization than a new website?! I thought that a quick history of our organization would be a great first blog post for our new website.
2009: The Idea phase
It was about 2009 that I really started to think that I could do something “real and tangible” to help men with depression. To be perfectly honest I wasn’t 100% sure what that would be, but I knew there were lots of men struggling with depression who needed help. With some vague ideas and a ton of energy, I approached Bill Dehkes and said “Let’s help guys who struggle with depression.” And I don’t think he skipped a beat and said “I am in!”
2010: Nonprofit Status & Board of Directors
Our first milestone was when Face It received its Federal designation as a 501c3 nonprofit organization in July of 2010. Our Board of Directors was comprised of some close friends and concerned individuals and we were in business.
2011: Kick-off With a Cross-Country Bike Tour
We spent the better part of 2010 and the early part of 2011 planning our kick-off event, which in good Face It fashion wasn’t a picnic or BBQ, but rather a 3600 mile cross-country bike tour. With Bill as captain of the RV and me on my trusty bicycle we traversed the United States from May until August spreading the word about depression and suicide issues in men. Thousands of miles were covered, hundreds of lives touched and more than 40 presentations delivered. Oh and courtesy of Lori Gardner and her family, in July of that year the very first Alive at the Market was held.
2012: Advisory Board & First Men’s Support Group
Using the end of 2011 to shore up an office, our Board of Directors, and to gather a world class Medical and Scientific Advisory Board, Bill and I took a deep breath and in 2012 launched our very first men’s support group! We were scared, we were nervous, and we had no idea if it would help anyone. Needless to say, it has!
2016: Where We Are Today
Jumping forward to today I am in awe of how Face It has grown. We now offer 4 regularly scheduled men’s groups that serve close to 50 men. We just completed our 4th consecutive year of offering multiple retreats where men with depression can get away for a weekend to be in the presence of other men who are struggling. Our monthly breakfast is a hit and fills up each month. We have launched the Connector Plus, an online tool to help men with depression. We have delivered 100’s of talks about depression, met individually with many men in crisis, and collectively provided THOUSANDS of hours of peer support for men with depression. We are just getting started!
Every service we offer at Face It is free of charge, thus insuring that no man will ever be turned away. We are able to do this only because of generous individuals and Family Foundations that support us. There are many other accomplishments that I would love to share with you if you’re interested — heck, I will even buy the coffee! Give me a call 612-789-9897 or send me an email (mmeier@faceitfoundation.org) and we can talk about how together we can help save a man’s life!
Take care!
Mark