BE KIND. BE PRESENT. LOVE HARD.

The Tyler Joseph Leonard Memorial Foundation is a non profit organization created to raise awareness for mental health and suicide prevention. Through our annual fundraising event, we will donate to an organization focused on mental health that is in need of new and improved resources for their program. We also have created a scholarship account that we will use to gift college scholarships to deserving seniors that attend Dartmouth high school  in Tyler’s name. It is our intention to begin expanding that scholarship program to other area high schools as well.

Who was Tyler, you ask? Tyler was a funny, kind, loving young man with a passion for music. His smile was one that could light up a room. He loved with all he had and often questioned,  "why do I love so hard?" ...Hence the meaning behind our logo, “LOVE HARD”.  Tyler struggled with mental illness and lost that battle to suicide on 10/17/18, just one day before his 30th birthday. To honor Tyler’s memory, it is the goal of this foundation to change the lives of those battling mental illness. 

Approximately 50 million Americans suffer from this disease and on average there are 130 suicides per DAY making it the 12th leading cause of death in the U.S.  SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE! If we can play a small part in that change by giving organizations the means to implement successful tools and resources to improve the lives of those that suffer from mental health issues, then we have accomplished what we have set out to do. Everyone has the power to say “THIS IS NOT HOW MY STORY WILL END!”