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Dear Dreamers,

It is with great excitement and humility that I accept the leadership role of the Rebecca Lynn Cutler Legacy of Life Foundation and Rebecca’s Dream. In 11 years, we have come a long way up the mountain, but we’ve still got a climb ahead of us. Our mission—promoting awareness and compassionate understanding of depression and bipolar disorder as real diseases—has never been more needed.  With your continued help and support, we will continue that climb and achieve great things in the months and years ahead.

Following in the footsteps of my parents and in memory of my sister, I plan to work with our exceptional board of directors and outstanding executive director to empower Rebecca’s Dream to climb ever higher from our firm foundation to become a nationally relevant mental health organization.

My vision is to build on our past success, scale up our reach, and bring our message to a more extensive audience than ever before. Specifically, we will continue to transition from being purely a fund-granting organization into being a development nonprofit, one that will put its resources to work, creating programs and content that can be used and consumed by people in our local community, around the country, and beyond.

 

Over the years, we have supported many organizations which have furthered our mission. We have developed and delivered life-changing programs to thousands of people. We have built a website that is revered in the mental health community as one of the best resources out there for information on depression and bipolar disorder.
We have been honored to hear from so many of you, in letters and e-mails, of the ways that we’ve truly helped to transform lives. And we have found our own lives transformed as well, knowing that our mission, my sister’s dream, has made a real and tangible impact.

 

We have accomplished a great deal in our 11 years. But that was only the beginning—we’re just getting warmed up. In the short term, we are excited to tell you that you’ll soon see a new RD presence online—a new website set to debut in the coming days.

 

Easier to navigate and more easily searchable, it will continue to tell our story in an effective, engaging way and continue to be an exemplary resource, full of tools and information about depression and bipolar disorder. Please check it out and let us know what you think.

 

Long-term, we will see the expanding development of our own programs focusing on supporting youth and adults who are living with depression and bipolar disorder, as well as their loved ones. In order to develop helpful ways to support them, the first step is to understand these diseases and how they affect us. With understanding comes compassion. And with compassion, support. These are the absolute essentials needed to continue scaling the mountain and reach the top where we can erase the still-present stigma of these diseases in our society.

 

Over this next year, please tell us what you think of our developments. We thank you again for your unwavering support and look forward to the exciting times ahead as we continue our climb. Stay tuned.

 

Best,
Brett

“Your present circumstances don’t determine where you go; they merely determine where you start.”

– Nido Qubein

Mental Health Awareness Month

During May, National Mental Health Awareness Month, Rebecca’s Dream recognizes all who live with mental health issues by raising awareness and compassionate understanding of depression and bipolar disease through a social media campaign “Today I…”

Throughout the month read personal stories of hope and compassion, as well as tips and techniques to improve and support your mental health.

Upcoming Event

SAVE THE DATE & GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!

July 16 @ Ravinia Festival, 3pm – 9:30 pm

Celebrating an evening of music with Rebecca’s Dream at Ravinia Festival at the Tchaikovsky Spectacular!

Join us for an evening of dinner and music at Ravinia Festival and help Rebecca’s Dream reduce the stigma of depression and bipolar disease.
Get your Tickets now
Learn More

Featured Book

Mad Girl by Bryony Gordon

THE NUMBER 1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB 2017 PICK.

‘I loved it. A brilliant fast and funny and frank look at something that absolutely needs to be talked about in this way’ Matt Haig.

Bryony Gordon has OCD.

It’s the snake in her brain that has told her ever since she was a teenager that her world is about to come crashing down.

Learn More

We Are What We Think

Deerfield High School’s Health Fair hosted Dr. Jodi Chase and Dr. Michelle Epstein this past April, 2017. Students voluntarily attended three workshops to learn how ‘thoughts drive feelings and behaviors.’ Through interactive discussion, Drs. Chase and Epstein demonstrated strategies to help identify and better manage feelings of depression and anxiety.

Teens felt encouraged to hear, “mental health issues do not define who you are. With proper treatment and support a successful life is yours.”

Following the discussion many students reached out for additional support from the Deerfield High School staff.

We are what we think program information

“Thanks to Rebecca’s Dream for being a part of the Deerfield High School health fair. We truly appreciate your time and effort to provide a great experience for our students. Your work had an impact on our students.”

John Campbell - Deerfield High School Teacher

Mental Health News

Catch up on the latest articles and news headlines about mental health, bipolar disorder and depression at Rebecca’s Dream “The Voice” and Press.
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Support the Dream

Help us by making a gift to promote awareness and compassionate understanding of depression and bipolar disorder as real diseases.

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