Greg Tatro of Jenna’s Promise receives the organization’s check during a special ceremony held in honor of the IMPACT Awards before the Boston Red Sox game against the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park in Boston on June 14, 2023. Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Boston Red Sox.
IMPACT Awards, presented for the fourth time by the Ruderman Family Foundation, support organizations raising awareness and improving mental health outcomes in their community.
Vermont Business Magazine Jenna’s Promise on Wednesday night received the $10,000 first-place award in Vermont as part of the 9th Annual IMPACT Awards, presented for the fourth time by the Ruderman Family Foundation. The awards focus on organizations that have demonstrated a deep impact in raising awareness and improving mental health outcomes in their community — an issue that has become increasingly prominent and urgent nationwide amid the mental health crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath.
One of 18 winners across six states in New England, Jenna’s Promise creates a network of support that will help people suffering from substance use disorder. The organization seeks to open doors and remove the barriers for people seeking treatment, ensuring healthy and sustained patient recovery.
Jenna’s Promise changes and saves lives by providing safe places to live and safe places to work while building a healthier community, reducing stigma and providing numerous resources and services for Individuals and families affected by addiction, mental health conditions and other barriers. In particular, it is a leading resource in Vermont helping to dramatically improve the lives of survivors of incarceration and sexual and domestic violence, including human trafficking. Through several social enterprises, three recovery residences, a community center and other work, Jenna’s Promise is one of the largest employers of people in recovery in the state.
The IMPACT Awards gives Red Sox fans the opportunity to nominate their favorite non-profits to receive support and funding. Through a grant from the Ruderman Family Foundation, the awards provide the winning non-profits with either a first-place $10,000 grant, second-place $3,000 grant, or a third-place $2,000 grant. Eligible organizations with the most online votes from fans were the designated winners, with three non-profits selected from each New England state.
The second-place winner in Vermont is Grace Cottage Hospital, which serves the healthcare needs of its community, promotes wellness, relieves suffering and restores health; and the third-place winner is Green Mountain Mobile Therapy, which provides equitable and accessible mental health and social emotional services to children and adolescents, through a unique micro-transit model.
“All of us at Jenna’s Promise are deeply grateful to receive an IMPACT Award from the Red Sox Foundation and the Ruderman Family Foundation,” says Greg Tatro, Founder of Jenna’s Promise. “And we are honored to represent Vermont, a state where there are many remarkable nonprofit organizations and worthy causes deserving of such support. It means even more to us because so many people across the state believe in our mission to help individuals and families affected by substance use and voted for Jenna’s Promise so we can continue to grow our impact and save lives.”
The winners were recognized in a pregame ceremony at Fenway Park on Wednesday night, receiving their awards on the field alongside Ruderman Family Foundation Executive Director Shira Ruderman, and Boston Red Sox Executive Vice President of Social Impact and Red Sox Foundation Executive Director Bekah Salwasser.
“We were honored to once again partner with the Red Sox Foundation in recognizing and supporting the organizations that are working on the front lines across this region on the urgent priority of improving mental health outcomes, ensuring that New Englanders receive the services and care they need,” says Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation. “If the experiences of recent years have taught us anything about mental health, it is that the rising challenges surrounding this issue are not going away anytime soon. We must all continue to do our part to end the stigma around mental health.”
“In our fourth year of partnership, we are deeply proud to work alongside the Ruderman Family Foundation to support, recognize and empower nonprofits in our communities that are strengthening outcomes in mental health,” says Salwasser. “It’s important for our two foundations to use our platforms and continue having open dialogue about mental health as we work towards breaking the stigma associated with such an important topic that impacts all of us each and every day. On behalf of our entire organization, we congratulate this year’s recipients of the IMPACT Awards and share our deepest gratitude to them for being champions in this space.”
During the IMPACT Awards voting period in May, the Red Sox Foundation and Ruderman Family Foundation released a public service announcement from Red Sox Manager Alex Cora in order to raise awareness around the need to end the stigma associated with mental health. Cora’s PSA builds on the Ruderman Family Foundation’s history of working to counter the stigma by amplifying messages from public figures who proceed to disseminate them among broad audiences, including actors Selena Gomez and Taraji P. Henson as well as athletes Michael Phelps and Kevin Love, recipients of the Foundation’s annual Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion.
“Mental health impacts all of us in some way,” Cora says in the PSA. “On and off the field, we cannot shy away from having real conversations about this topic. Together, we can end the stigma around mental health, and increase the number of lives and communities saved. If you, or someone you know, is struggling with mental health, the Boston Red Sox and the Ruderman Family Foundation encourage you to seek out the care you need. Red Sox Nation is one team, and just as you support us, we support you.”
From left to right, Red Sox Foundation Executive Director Bekah Salwasser, Ruderman Family Foundation Executive Director Shira Ruderman, and check recipients Tressa Giordano of AHM Youth & Family Services, Mike Wilson of the Center for Grieving Children, Denise Brack of Hope Floats Healing & Wellness, Tara Ball of Connor’s Climb Foundation, and Greg Tatro of Jenna’s Promise during a special ceremony held in honor of the IMPACT Awards before the Boston Red Sox game against the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park in Boston on June 14, 2023. Photo by Jaiden Tripi/Boston Red Sox.
Source: BOSTON, MA, June 16, 2023 — Jenna’s Promise
