Audrey Gruss & Veronica Beard Hosted
Shop-for-Hope
to Benefit Hope for Depression Research
Foundation
Celebrated Author & Psychiatrist Dr. Samantha
Boardman Leads Conversation on Mental Health
On Thursday, April 13th,
Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF) Founder Audrey
Gruss and
Veronica Beard designers, Veronica
Miele Beard and Veronica Swanson Beard,
hosted the Shop-
for-Hope event
to benefit the foundation and raise mental health awareness
and money for depression research.
Held at the
Veronica Beard store on Madison Ave, the shopping event
welcomed over 50 guests, who enjoyed refreshing cocktails
and bites by Amuse Bouche NYC and browsed the latest
Spring/Summer collection. The Hope Fragrance Collection,
which features Hope fragrance, Hope Sport and Hope Night,
was also available for purchase, with all net profits going
directly to HDRF.
During the event,
Veronica Miele Beard and Veronica Swanson Beard welcomed
guests and spoke about the vital importance of depression
awareness and improving mental health treatment for every
American. They then introduced HDRF Founder and Chair
Audrey Gruss.
Audrey Gruss said:
“These two women are such visionaries, not only in what they
have done with their magnificent brand, but how they are
recognizing and supporting the need for mental health
research and awareness. I could think of no better
partnership for Hope for Depression Research Foundation than
this beautiful brand that people love.”
She continued to
speak about depression through a national lens, noting that
last Fall the Surgeon General announced teen mental health
is a national emergency, with suicide being the second
leading cause of death for teens ages 15 to 19.
Gruss introduced renowned psychiatrist Dr.
Samantha Boardman,
who led a conversation about depression in children and
steps to help build resiliency. Copies
of Dr. Boardman’s recent book Everyday
Vitality: Turning Stress into Strength were
available to give out to shoppers.
Dr. Boardman spoke
about the steps to boost resilience in children and said: “Perfectionism
is such a problem with young people today. They
lead these perfect lives you see on Instagram constantly.
Talk to your kids about the times you messed up
professionally, personally, and about the goofs and gaffs
and the stumbles and what you would do differently.”
She continued: “That’s the key. What you do
differently now as a result of that, and stepping off that
pedestal of perfection that kids often put us on … It
enables them to see challenges as much more doable hurdles
than total roadblocks. So, if we want our kids to have
successes, we're going to have to encourage plenty of
disappointments and failures.”
Guests for the
evening included Tamara Behan, Louisa Benton, Melissa
Breitbart, Marc Caputo, Dori Cooperman, Jennifer Creel,
Alison Draper, Julia Du, Monica Elias, Lynne Glaser, Joanna
Goldenstein, Jamee Gregory, Jessica Gruss, Susan Gutfreund,
Amy Heilberg, Kathy Hillelson, Pam Mitchell, Adele Nino,
Stacey Pashcow, Debra Peltz, Gayle Perry, and Jennifer
Gardner Trulson.
At the end of the
remarks, Gruss announced the upcoming inaugural HDRF Teen
Race of Hope, a race created by teens for teens, which will
take place at Pier 40 Hudson River Park on Sunday, May 21st.
Proceeds from the HOPE race will fund groundbreaking
research into the root causes of depression in the brain and
new and better treatments. To sign up or learn more, please
visit the website at https://www.nycteen.raceofhopeseries.com/
###
ABOUT Hope for Depression Research
Foundation:
HDRF was founded in 2006 by philanthropist
Audrey Gruss in memory of her mother Hope, who struggled
with clinical depression. Today, HDRF is the leading
nonprofit organization focused solely on advanced depression
research into new and better treatments for the illness. The
World Health Organization has declared depression as the
leading cause of disability worldwide, and yet conventional
medications today are outdated and do not fully work for 50%
of patients. The mission of the HDRF is to spur innovative
neuroscience research into the origins, medical diagnosis,
new treatments, and prevention of depression and its related
mood disorders - bipolar disorder, postpartum depression,
post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, and
suicide. To date, HDRF has provided more than $50 million
through over 200 grants for breakthrough depression research
that promises to transform the way depression is viewed,
diagnosed, treated, and prevented. Currently, HDRF has a
potential new class of medication in pilot clinical trials
at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Columbia University, and
Stanford University. HDRF is also funding clinical trials
into other novel therapeutics and diagnostic tests at Johns
Hopkins, University of San Diego, and the Center for Healthy
Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
ABOUT Dr. Samantha Boardman
Dr. Samantha
Boardman is a renowned New York-based psychiatrist and the
author of Everyday
Vitality: Turning Stress into Strength.
She has a private practice in Manhattan and currently serves
as a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Assistant
Attending Psychiatrist at Weill-Cornell Medical College. She
received her BA from Harvard University, an MD from Cornell
University Medical College and a Master’s Degree in Applied
Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She
holds a
Medical Degree from Cornell University Medical College where
she was awarded the Oskar Diethelm Prize for Excellence in
Psychiatry. She has published papers in various
journals, including Translational Neuroscience, Nature
Reviews Neuroscience, The American Journal of Psychiatry,
and The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. She is a contributor
to Psychology Today, The Wall Street Journal, and Thrive
Global, as well as a frequent guest on the Today Show and
Good Day New York. Dr.
Boardman has a blog, www.PositivePrescription.com,
sharing insights from the psychiatry and psychology
community with readers, and exploring the way psychology,
culture and science intersect. |