Live Like Sam was founded after 16-year-old Sam Jackenthal, an internationally-ranked freestyle skier died tragically in a skiing crash.
His father Ron co-founded the foundation with his daughter Skylar to let Sam’s passion, courage and optimism live on and help them with their own grief and sadness.
“Sam was this kind, empathetic, happy, positive kid that just lit up a room,” Jackenthal said. “And that eventually led me to do some personal work on my own grieving. I realized that a lot of families that have lost kids, they've lost them to overdose and suicide, and I kind of oddly felt like the lucky one. That inspired me to leave my corporate career, start our foundation and find ways to bring mental health and well-being solutions to our society, because we're really struggling.”
The foundation has been running its free Thrive program, a preventive mental health initiative, that empowers and strengthens youth well-being.
Jackenthal said the results have been impressive.
“We're seeing anxiety and depression be reduced by over 20%," he said. “In some cases, over 25%. We're even seeing better results for some like specific populations, like the Latinx population, and so we're super excited about being able to expand our program.”
Jackenthal hopes to reach even more kids now that the foundation has partnered with the Utah School Menal Health Collaborative with the University of Utah and working closely with Huntsman Mental Health.
Dr. Aaron Fischer is the founder of the collaborative and said they’re working with school districts across the state to provide mental health screenings for students to identify those at risk.
“We work with schools and communities to really help bring more effective systems of mental health to schools,” Dr. Fischer said. “That means everything from screening to psychiatric support. But really what we're looking for is being able to meet students where they're at and with the Live Like Sam Foundation partnership, we're able to meet them where they're at, because so many students aren't necessarily experiencing anxiety, depression at the current moment, but they may be at risk for developing those things. And so, we really want to find community partners that can help bridge some of that gap.”
The community can learn more at a free event Tuesday, Sept. 4 from 5:45 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Blair Education Center at Park City Hospital.
The evening will include light snacks, youth activities and crafts and an hour-long panel and Q & A followed by an ice cream social.
“All the presentations will be very short, but incredibly informative and valuable,” Jackenthal said.
And save the date for the annual Live Like Sam Gala on Sept. 21 to help support expanding the programs into all of Summit and Wasatch counties.
Jackenthal said the gala at Marquis Park City will include dinner, live music with the popular Neil Diamond cover band, “Super Diamond,” and an auction.
