The Steve Fund Receives Funding from Sony to Scale Mental Health Services to Young People of Color Through Technology

PROVIDENCE, R.I., Nov. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Steve Fund, the nation's leading organization focused on supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color, today announced a major donation and new partnership with Sony Corporation of America. Spread over three years, this funding will be used to dramatically expand the Fund's digital technology, increasing the scope and scale of the Steve Fund's services to students, families, and professionals across the nation.

This donation comes from Sony's Global Social Justice Fund, a $100 million fund established in June 2020. The contribution to the Steve Fund is being made on behalf of Sony Group Corporation and Sony's companies in the United States.

The work of the Steve Fund has taken on heightened urgency given the trifecta of pandemics facing the nation, including COVID-19, the associated economic crises, and our nation's racial reckoning. Such stressors are compounded by increased levels of racial trauma that have accumulated over generations within families and communities. Sony's support will enable the Steve Fund to launch a digital transformation initiative to reach millions of young people of color and their supporters and families.

"Increasingly, in a digital age when technology is ubiquitous, it is essential that the Steve Fund's strategy to provide mental health resources to communities of color evolve rapidly to meet the scale of the problems that must be addressed. Impacting millions more people is possible, but it requires new and diverse modes of outreach that harness the power of technology," says Evan Rose, President of the Board at The Steve Fund. "With Sony's generous support, the Steve Fund is undertaking a large-scale, organizational digital transformation that will allow our constituencies to experience the richness and diversity of our programming in a virtual environment wherever they are in the country."

"We are proud to support the important work of the Steve Fund and their efforts to help them develop new and better tools to reach those in need," said Karen Kelso, Senior Director, Corporate Social Responsibility, Sony Corporation of America. "The Steve Fund's mission to support the mental health and emotional well being of young people of color fits perfectly with the goals of the Sony Global Social Justice Fund, which supports initiatives that promote social justice, anti-racism initiatives and foster diversity, equity and inclusion around the world."

The new programs being undertaken by the Steve Fund include:

• The capacity to offer education and training programs to students, families, faculty, and mental health professionals across the nation through multiple media and on a broad scale, such as our Equity in Mental Health on Campus program, Well-being in Color mental health education workshops, Community Conversations, and Young Gifted and Well Family Webinars.
• Expanded reach for the Steve Fund into many more institutions of higher education, high schools, family and community centers, businesses and industries, and other organizations seeking to strengthen their mental health and well being support systems.
• Erasing stigma around mental health challenges and illnesses, especially for communities of color, through widespread research, knowledge and thought leadership around mental health and well-being

About the Steve Fund:
The Steve Fund is the nation's leading organization focused on supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of young people of color.  The Steve Fund works with colleges and universities, non-profits, corporations, researchers, multicultural mental health experts, families, and young people of color to deliver culturally competent on-campus and on-site programs and services and provide direct services to young people of color and those who support them. Visit stevefund.org to learn about tools such as their webinar series, "Community Conversations," signature Programs & Services, conferences and Crisis Response Task Force report. Connect with The Steve Fund: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn

About Sony Corporation of America:

Sony Corporation of America, located in New York, NY, is the U.S. headquarters of Sony Group Corporation, based in Tokyo, Japan. Sony's principal U.S. businesses include Sony Electronics Inc., Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Music Publishing LLC. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $84.8 billion USD for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2021 and employs approximately 114,400.

SOURCE Sony Corporation of America