Le Moyne Awarded $300,000 from Booth Ferris Foundation for Dolphins Changing Minds Course and Mental Wellness Ambassador Program

Thanks to a $300,000 two-year grant from the Booth Ferris Foundation, beginning with the fall 2023 semester Le Moyne will launch a new program to increase students’ resiliency and their ability to cope with emotional and mental health issues. The grant will be split evenly over the next two academic years.

The program, called Building Resiliency Among Peers, will engage approximately 600 undergraduates (150 per semester for four semesters) in a new one-credit academic course titled “Dolphins Changing Minds.” Following the fall 2023 semester, 30 students who successfully complete the course will be recruited to serve as “wellness ambassadors” for their peers. Each subsequent semester, approximately 15 students will be retained and 15 new students recruited as wellness ambassadors.

“I’m grateful to the Booth Ferris Foundation for this funding, which will become an important part of Le Moyne’s ongoing efforts to better equip students to deal with the mental health challenges they face,” said Anne Kearney, LCSW-R, dean of student wellbeing for Le Moyne. “By recruiting students to serve in this role, the benefits of the course and the wellness ambassador program will continue far beyond the grant period.”

In addition to the curriculum and student ambassadors, Le Moyne will participate with Jed Campus to strengthen its programs, policies and resources that will ultimately lead to ongoing measurable improvements in overall campus culture and student wellbeing.

The Booth Ferris Foundation was established in 1957 under the wills of Willis H. Booth and his wife, Chancie Ferris Booth. Since that time, approximately $281 million has been contributed from the Foundation to worthy organizations for a variety of charitable purposes.