The Scooty Fund's mission is to promote, support and advance culture surrounding mental health and wellness in ways that enhance the lives and well-being of young people.
The Scooty Fund's story begins with the life of Will Taylor. Will, nicknamed “Scooty” for his quick moves on the basketball court, was a senior in college when he died by suicide at age 21.
Ever the fun-loving, charismatic, loyal, competitive friend, son and brother, Will grew up in Mercer Island, Washington and attended Santa Clara University to study economics and political science. Will was a member of Sigma Pi Fraternity, active socially and expected to graduate in spring of 2017. He died March 4, 2017.
Will’s death left the many who knew him shocked, confused and grief-stricken, dumbfounded, wondering “why?” He expressed no feelings of desperation. He expressed no feelings of sorrow. He expressed nothing indicative of hopelessness or dejection or distress.
Will's life and death inspired conversations between Will's sister Kasey Taylor and friends Tara Nielson and Tristan Coles. They decided to take action to change the way culture understands and treats mental health. Kendall Taylor offered her legal counsel and Stacy Bjarnason offered her invaluable financial expertise. Together, this passionate team incorporated as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, on March 4, 2018, the first anniversary of Will's death.
The Scooty Fund’s mission is to promote, support and advance culture surrounding mental health and wellness in ways that enhance the lives and well-being of young people. Driven by this mission, The Scooty Fund focuses on encouraging conversation, destigmatizing mental health “issues,” building supportive and open communities, educating others, raising funds for crisis resources and, above all, helping young people prioritize their mental wellness in ways that WORK.
The Scooty Fund hosts panel presentations about mental health and suicide prevention related to young adults, organizes small group forums for young adults led by President Kasey Taylor and continues growing its community through its #WellnessWednesday campaign, a program in which various young adults take over The Scooty Fund’s Instagram story each Wednesday to candidly share about their experiences with mental health, wellness and challenging life events. The Scooty Fund’s #WellnessWednesday campaign reinforces the notion that no one is alone or isolated in their mental and emotional struggles and provides a platform for young adults to pool their wisdom. The Scooty Fund also works with select organizations to provide suicide prevention training to adults in positions of influence and develop curriculum for mental health education in high schools, and has sponsored a Suicide Prevention research study at the University of Washington. To date, The Scooty Fund has raised over $100,000 for these projects and related crisis prevention resources.
The Scooty Fund’s conviction that, together, there is a WILL and a WAY drives its efforts. In the words of Vice President Tara Nielson, "this is just the beginning of the story ... We are all leaders and learners.”
Ever the fun-loving, charismatic, loyal, competitive friend, son and brother, Will grew up in Mercer Island, Washington and attended Santa Clara University to study economics and political science. Will was a member of Sigma Pi Fraternity, active socially and expected to graduate in spring of 2017. He died March 4, 2017.
Will’s death left the many who knew him shocked, confused and grief-stricken, dumbfounded, wondering “why?” He expressed no feelings of desperation. He expressed no feelings of sorrow. He expressed nothing indicative of hopelessness or dejection or distress.
Will's life and death inspired conversations between Will's sister Kasey Taylor and friends Tara Nielson and Tristan Coles. They decided to take action to change the way culture understands and treats mental health. Kendall Taylor offered her legal counsel and Stacy Bjarnason offered her invaluable financial expertise. Together, this passionate team incorporated as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, on March 4, 2018, the first anniversary of Will's death.
The Scooty Fund’s mission is to promote, support and advance culture surrounding mental health and wellness in ways that enhance the lives and well-being of young people. Driven by this mission, The Scooty Fund focuses on encouraging conversation, destigmatizing mental health “issues,” building supportive and open communities, educating others, raising funds for crisis resources and, above all, helping young people prioritize their mental wellness in ways that WORK.
The Scooty Fund hosts panel presentations about mental health and suicide prevention related to young adults, organizes small group forums for young adults led by President Kasey Taylor and continues growing its community through its #WellnessWednesday campaign, a program in which various young adults take over The Scooty Fund’s Instagram story each Wednesday to candidly share about their experiences with mental health, wellness and challenging life events. The Scooty Fund’s #WellnessWednesday campaign reinforces the notion that no one is alone or isolated in their mental and emotional struggles and provides a platform for young adults to pool their wisdom. The Scooty Fund also works with select organizations to provide suicide prevention training to adults in positions of influence and develop curriculum for mental health education in high schools, and has sponsored a Suicide Prevention research study at the University of Washington. To date, The Scooty Fund has raised over $100,000 for these projects and related crisis prevention resources.
The Scooty Fund’s conviction that, together, there is a WILL and a WAY drives its efforts. In the words of Vice President Tara Nielson, "this is just the beginning of the story ... We are all leaders and learners.”