Heads up for Harry 5k - Announced December 14th

Join the for the “Spark the Conversation 5K” in Support of Heads Up For Harry!

Lace up your sneakers and get ready for a meaningful run to support mental health awareness. This year’s race brings together Marist alumni, students, families, and community members, while welcoming participants from all walks of life to support Heads Up For Harry, a nonprofit dedicated to sparking conversations around mental health and providing vital resources to those in need.

Race Date: December 14th

Location: Marist Lower Fields

Time: 8:30am

This 5K is more than just a race—it's an opportunity for the entire Marist community to unite and make a difference, alongside friends, family, and supporters from outside Marist. Whether you're running, walking, or cheering from the sidelines, your participation helps raise funds for essential mental health programs and services.

Why run?

Support mental health by helping raise funds for Heads Up For Harry, founded in memory of Harrison Willingham (Class of '09). Heads Up For Harry works to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and provide access to mental health resources for students, families, and communities. Their mission focuses on offering support for those facing mental health challenges, such as depression and anxiety, and sparking conversations that can save lives.

Race-day features include:

Light bites and refreshments available after the race

Activities for kids during the race, so bring the whole family!

Hot chocolate and coffee to keep everyone warm and energized!

Whether you're part of the Marist family or not, everyone is welcome to participate. Sign up today and help us reach our fundraising goal to make a lasting impact on mental health!

Register here on ACTIVE

Together, we can spark the conversation, support mental health, and strengthen both the Marist and greater community. See you at the finish line!

If you have trouble registering via Active, you can register directly in the Heads up for Harry website, and we will see you on race day!



First Annual Golf Tournament HUGE Success!

Heads Up for Harry’s first annual Tee Up Mental Health Charity Golf Tournament was held at the Atlanta National Golf Club on April 2, 2024. Seventy five golfers enjoyed a spring day on the links, a burger luncheon, and awards ceremony. Thanks to all who came out for the big event.

Congratulations to our tournament winners: Land Wright, Camp Jennings, Jon McRae and Daniel Topping.

Camp Jennings also took the trophy for the Closest to the Pin contest, and Kevin Langley took the prize for Longest Drive.

Many thanks to our sponsors for the tournament. We couldn’t have been successful without you.

HU4H Featured on Perfect Timing Multisport Podcast

In 2020, Michael Shipp founded Perfect Timing Multisport, a platform created to help people navigate to the start line, excel through the finish line, and a space where their experiences are shared. His podcast gives a diverse group of athletes, professionals, and athletic communities a space to share their stories while encouraging others to do the same.

On episode 030 of the PTM Podcast, Mike had an opportunity to sit down with Spencer Mitchell,  Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board for Heads Up For Harry (HU4H). HU4H is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping young adults affected by mental illness, and their loved ones, find the resources and support they need. 

Spencer was able to share a bit about his friend, Harrison 'Harry' Willingham, and discussed some of the work the HU4H team has done to help people connect and share experiences, and insights around mental health and wellness.

The Mitchell-Athaide family at the Spark the Conversation 5K on September 23, 2023.

Spark the Conversation 5K Breaks a Record

THANK YOU!

The 2023 Spark the Conversation 5K was a grand success! Not only did we have a wonderful autumn morning, but we also raised more than $13,700 for Heads Up for Harry, an all time record for this event.  These funds will help the organization widen our programmatic reach and assist more young adults affected my mental illness find the support they need.


Congratulations to our winners!

WOMEN
18 and under - Nicole Barrios
19-40 - Abigail Kirkland
40+ - Juliette Pibien
MEN
18 and under - Sully Thompson
19-40 - Bobby Perez
40+ - Rob Henson

 

A special recognition and thanks to our sponsors. 

Northwestern Mutual Midtown
Fortna
Scotland Wright
The Brockway Group
Team BCA
WetKeys
Stockbridge
The Athaide Family
Sidley Law Firm
The Refinery
Signs of Intelligence
Marist School


Be sure to join us again next year to #Fightthestigma!

HU4H Wins $5000 with Leadership DAWGS Community Impact Project

Leadership Dawgs is a 12-month program that engages UGA alumni in active leadership development. The program challenges business professionals to uncover their leadership potential to advance their careers, optimize their team's performance and cultivate a diverse professional network.

The students—Leadership Dawgs—then put these insights into practice through a Community Impact Project (CIP) that supports the needs of Atlanta and Athens-based nonprofits.. Heads Up for Harry was selected last year to participate in this inaugural group of participants. The HU4H group was charged with auditing current fundraising practices and creating a long term development plan, assessing the organization's reach and ensuring robust resources for 2022 and beyond.

The HU4H Leadership DAWGS completed several major goals: Raising $8000+ in an Athens 5K; compiling a list of potential funders for future programming grants; assisting in the completion of 2 grant proposals, with one of them bringing in $2000; reviewing the existing Customer Relationship Management platform and developing a donor engagement plan.

A panel of Leadership Dawgs faculty evaluated the CIPs, and chose the HU4H group as the winner with the most measurable impact. This honor brings with it a $5000 prize for Heads Up for Harry.

Read more here.

Spark the Conversation 5K 2022 - HUGE SUCCESS!

Heads Up for Harry hosted another successful 5K at Marist School on Saturday, October 8. Thanks to all of our sponsors who supported the race!

GOLD SPONSORS

Ernst & Young

Fairway Independent Mortgage

SILVER SPONSORS

Pure Air Filtration

Kirby Coastal Properties

Scotland Wright Associates

Brockway Real Estate

Rhodes Risk Advisors

SK Commercial Real Estate

Knights of Columbus Georgia State Council

IN-KIND DONATIONS

Bad Daddy’s Burger Bar

Bitsy’s

Signs of Intelligence

Executive Director Named

Heads up for Harry is pleased to announce the appointment of Margaret Jones, as the new Executive Director of our growing organization!

For followers of Heads up for Harry, you may have had the privilege of meeting Margaret over the last year, where she has been serving as our Director of Programming. “Margaret has brought a tremendous amount of energy and growth to the organization, and we’re so excited to take this next step together,” says Chairman of the Board, Spencer Mitchell. “Her background in curriculum development and educator training is a perfect match for the organization as we continue to offer new programming to high school and college students and teachers. We felt this was the perfect time to expand Margaret’s role as our number of high school panels has more than doubled in the last year, and we are receiving new requests for longitudinal mental health programming in higher academic settings,” Mitchell says. Since Ms. Jones joined Heads up for Harry in mid-2021, programming has grown significantly. In 2022, Heads up for Harry has a target of delivering 12 mental health speaking events to high school and college age students (and we are more than ¾ of the way there!). Furthermore, Heads up for Harry has licensed an evidenced-based curriculum written by Ross Szabo, Wellness Director at the Geffen School at UCLA. The curriculum focuses on teaching participants a new vocabulary for mental health, how to build healthy coping mechanisms, utilizing stress in a productive manner, and more. HU4H program staff has also been certified to train teachers/adult leaders to implement the Behind Happy Faces curriculum. Topics for adults include: guidelines on using personal stories effectively within a mental health curriculum, a common language to normalize mental health education, and tailored details on the implementation of the curriculum within the context/culture of the specific organization.

In addition to continuing to grow our program offerings to support young adult mental health, Ms. Jones will now have the opportunity to lead the organization with a wider scope, including board support and growth, financial stewardship, and donor relationships. 

Ms. Jones’ career includes 30+ years of teaching experience in public and private elementary grades and university teacher preparation courses. During her 10-year tenure at Georgia State University, she co-directed the Collaborative Master’s Program, an innovative approach to in-service teacher education emphasizing learner-centered and democratic educational practices. She has consulted with many schools and organizations around issues of constructivist teaching and teacher education, and has served as Principal at PK-8th independent schools in South Carolina and Georgia. Ms. Jones received her M.Ed. and Ed.S. degrees in Elementary Education from Indiana University, with Curriculum Theory as her focus of study. 

“Again, I’m so excited that Margaret wanted to take this next step with us, and I’m so grateful to her as well as our Board and donors who continue to support the organization through this next stage together,” Mitchell says.