Fishers Rotary donates $20K to Project Hope

Funding will support scholarships & school-based mental healthcare

On Friday, Nov. 15, the Fishers Rotary Club presented a $20,000 check to Project Hope, an organization that provides scholarship funding and sponsors access to school-based mental healthcare for students of Hamilton Southeastern Schools.

Justin Hirnisey, executive director of the HSE Education Foundation, and Molly Kerwan, mental health coordinator at HSE Schools, gave a presentation that outlined the need and the outcome of their efforts.

Hirnisey reported that last year they gave over $200,000 of grant money to help students who are unable to pay for services due to lack of insurance.

Fishers Rotary has sponsored a golf outing annually since 2021 for the purpose of providing underserved youth and their mental health needs. Tad Bristow, co-chair of the golf outing, said, “It’s important that we help to remove the stigma of mental health, and we are proud to play a small role in helping Project Hope achieve its goals.”

Kerwan pointed out that even though DCS reports and suicide risk assessments nearly doubled this year over last year, she is pleased that “every one of those students got connected to our robust team and received services.”

Among the many reasons students need the services of Project Hope are a lack of basic needs and higher anxiety, which in part is a result of pressure from the student on themselves to perform. Social media, not surprisingly, plays a role in this equation.

In addition to providing services for students, Project Hope offers services to parents as they help their child to navigate this tricky terrain.

A fundraising event for February 2025 is being planned, tentatively scheduled to be at the new Fishers Event Center.

For further information and opportunities to help support Project Hope, go to hsefoundation.org/projecthope.