The Indianapolis Colts today announced that Kicking The Stigma will donate $650,000 to One Mind, a leading national brain health nonprofit, to support three research and development initiatives, including the One Mind Rising Star Awards, One Mind Accelerator and One Mind at Work.
Kicking The Stigma is the Jim Irsay family effort to serve as an example, convener and catalyst for strategic change in the mental health space by using the power of the Colts' platform to improve the lives of Hoosiers and beyond.
Launched in 2020, Kicking The Stigma raises awareness about mental health and aims to end the stigma associated with mental health disorders. The effort also raises and distributes funding to nonprofits and organizations to expand mental health treatment and research. Through Action Grants and personal donations by the Irsays, more than $25 million has been committed to various strategic efforts.
"One Mind is helping facilitate groundbreaking work in brain health and mental wellness, so we're proud to partner with them to accelerate treatment and research solutions, which are needed now more than ever," said Kalen Jackson, Colts Vice Chair & Owner.
The three initiatives are:
- One Mind Rising Star Awards. Launched in 2005, the One Mind Rising Star Awards identify and fund pivotal, innovative research on the causes of and cures for brain health conditions by supporting the most promising emerging leaders in the field of neuropsychiatry.
The funding will support the One Mind Indianapolis Colts Kicking The Stigma Rising Star Award, which will provide a promising, early career investigator in neuropsychiatry, neurology or related disciplines an opportunity to advance the research and understanding of underlying disease mechanisms in brain disorders such as anxiety, addiction, bipolar disorder, depression, PTSD, schizophrenia and eating disorders.
- One Mind Accelerator. The accelerator seeks to address the global mental health crisis at scale and with a sense of urgency through the power of entrepreneurship. The program will award $100,000 each to 10 emerging mental health companies and provide nine weeks of intensive programming designed to help the entrepreneurs rapidly take their concepts to the next level. Kicking The Stigma will fund one of the 10 companies over the next three years.
- One Mind at Work is a global coalition of organizations committed to the development and implementation of a gold standard for workplace mental health. It convenes leaders to transform approaches to brain health with the goal of addressing mental health disparities and working towards a society and health care system that acknowledge that mental health is health.
What's more, the Colts are dedicating their home game this Sunday to highlighting Kicking The Stigma and mental health. During the game, the team will recognize Hoosier mental health professionals for their work in the field, while fans will learn about Kicking The Stigma, other mental health resources and ways they can help or contribute to the effort.
Friends and fans can learn more or donate at Colts.com/KTS.
