No one could make a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only something little ~ Mahatma Gandhi

The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation Presents The 10th Anniversary
“Yellow Dress” Celebration of Life
Golf and Dinner Gala
       Hayfields Country Club June 11, 2012

The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation was established by Douglas and Sharon Strouse in response to the death of their daughter Kristin, on October 11, 2001. Kristin was a freshman at Parsons School of Design in New York City when she ended her own life.

Mission Statement…

The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation is dedicated to supporting programs that increase awareness of Mental Health through education and the arts. The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation (KRSF) is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization. KRSF supports programs that provide:

The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation is proud to have contributed a Grand Total of $938,471 to the programs listed below.  These funds consist of money raised at the Yellow Dress Golf Classic, Dinner and Live Auction, since 2002.  This figure includes $125,000 donated by Douglas and Sharon Strouse.

Programs…

The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation is proud to support:

1. Johns Hopkins Medicine: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences: Adolescent Depression Awareness Program. (ADAP)  The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation is providing funds for the development of a school based curriculum to educate high school students, teachers, and parents about teenage depression.  The primary goal of the program is to develop a nationally available curriculum for health teachers to incorporate into their health classes.
   
   Johns Hopkins Medicine: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences: Depression Awareness Program for College Campuses. (CDAP)  The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation provided funding for the development of a core-curriculum program on depression that would be taught to students and faculty in the college setting.  Johns Hopkins University,   Maryland Institute College of Art, University of Maryland Baltimore County and Westchester Community College, New York, participated in the planning of a menu of effective interventions that could be offered to increase knowledge, awareness and treatment of depression.
   
   Johns Hopkins Medicine Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences: The Annual Mood Disorders Research/ Education Symposiums: April 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011.

2. Rita Project. Rita (Sanskrit for Truth) is a movement to stop suicide and to celebrate life.  Rita Project is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization devoted to using the arts to help those who have lost someone to suicide and those who have attempted suicide, connect with the power of creation, and in doing so, foster transformation

   Rita Project Programs:
   
   Our three programs: Rita Studios, Rita Workshops, Rita Exhibitions
   • Nurture healing
   • Assist with suicide prevention education
   • Raise public awareness of the importance of the arts to mental health
   
   Rita Studios:
   Our Open Art Studios are based on the concept that the creative process involved in the making of art is healing and life enhancing¹, and that survivors benefit from art-based therapy programs. Studios convene weekly and each session lasts two hours. All studio sessions are staffed by an art therapist and a graduate art therapy student assistant. Note: Rita Studio Baltimore is open.
   
   Rita Workshops:
   Workshops serve as an effective suicide prevention education and crisis intervention tool. We use the arts to help our audience recognize, express, and process emotions, identify means to make health-enhancing choices, appreciate diversity in personal expression, and communicate in a positive way with self and others. Workshops are facilitated by an art therapist.
   
   Jivamukti Yoga Center, NYC, Lehman College, CUNY, Maryland Art Place, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Millennium High School, NYC, National Children’s Mental Health Day: American Visionary Art Museum, Maryland, New York University, Oregon State University, Park East High School, NYC, Active Minds National Conference, Rutgers University:  DeStress Day, The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS).
   
   Rita Exhibitions:
   Exhibitions are collaborations that provide Studio and Workshop participants with a sense of closure and recognition. In addition, Exhibitions create space for community and dialogue.
   
   Greenwich House Pottery, NYC,  Maryland’s Annual Suicide Prevention Conference,  Millennium High School, NYC, Oregon State University, Park East High School, NYC, The Ittleson Foundation, NYC, The New School, The Social Art Gallery, Albany, NY, Send Silence Packing collaboration with Active Minds at Virginia Tech, Rutgers University.
   
   • Rita Studio New York City: 2004 - 2008
   • Rita Studio Los Angeles:  2007 - 2008
   • Rita Studio Baltimore: American Visionary Art Museum: 2007 to current.

   Rita Project provides Rita Studio Workshops for The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, (TAPS) an organization that provides immediate and long term emotional help, hope and healing to anyone grieving the loss of a loved one in military service to America.  Rita Project Studios: TAPS National Military Survivors Seminar: Memorial Day Weekend, 2009, 2010, 2011 and the Rita Project: TAPS National Survivors of Suicide Conference, 2009, 2010 and 2011.  Rita Studio Video / Pentagon Channel.

3. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) College film Project:  The Truth About Suicide: Real Stories of Depression in College. This 27 minute film presents a realistic and recognizable picture of depression in college age youth, that encourages college students suffering from depression and related psychiatric disorders to seek treatment or help a friend to seek treatment.  It helps students recognize depression as a serious illness, which left untreated can lead to suicide. The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation helped to fund the development of this film and related educational materials.  The film premiered in New York City in May 2003.  To date, close to 15,000 copies of the film have been distributed nationwide.

4. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s College Screening Project: A web-based outreach project at Emory University, The University of North Carolina:  Chapel Hill, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology:  Graduate Students, The University of Pittsburg:  Medical Students and Vanderbilt University:  Residents and Attending Physicians.
   
   The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: Out of the Darkness Walks:  Louisville 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and Baltimore 2009, 2010.

5. The Depression and Related Affective Disorders Association (DRADA) – The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation is a proud sponsor of the book: “Most Commonly Asked Questions About Teenage Depression & Bipolar Illness” by Sallie Mink, R.N.
   
   The Depression and Related Affective Disorders Association (DRADA) – Lecture Series: The Lifespan of Women: Childhood to Pregnancy 2004.

6. The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation was a proud sponsor of the Lecture by Dr. Lisa Machoian, Author of “The Disappearing Girl: Learning the Language of Teenage Depression,” at Notre Dame Preparatory, March 2006.

7. The Kristin Rita Strouse Professional Development Awards: 2002 / Ann Walker: Art Professor, Notre Dame Preparatory, 2003 / Father Ray Chase:  Illuminations, 2005 / Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander: Visual Arts and the Spiritual, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007/ Educational Scholarships for the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training. (ASSIST)  ASSIST is an internationally recognized gatekeeper suicide prevention program, sponsored by Pastoral Counseling Services of Maryland.

8. The Kristin Rita Strouse Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund. This award was established to foster the development of future artists at Notre Dame Preparatory.  The scholarship is given annually to an 11th grade student, in support of advanced training at a Pre-Collage Summer Program.  It is based on talent, a submitted essay and need. 2002: Jennifer Guido, 2003: Nichole Drummond, 2004: Lindsay Marsh, 2005: Tessa Burke, 2006: Sarah Miller, 2007: Kathryn Regan, 2008:  Alexis Sanders, 2009: Lucia Mangione and 2010: Genevieve O’Keefe.

Facts…

• Every 18 minutes a life is lost to suicide in the U.S.
• Every minute another attempt is made
• 30,000Americans die from suicide every year
• Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death, ages 15 to 24, in the U.S.
• 90% of those who die, have a diagnosable and treatable psychiatric disorder