Born This Way Foundation

Be there certificate is our free, online mental health course that equips young people with the tools to confidently and compassionately support one another, created in partnership with jack.org. Through six self-paced lessons, available in english, french, and spanish, young people and caring adults learn how to recognize when someone is struggling, provide support, and connect others to the help they deserve. As of 2024, over 60k people have earned their be there certificate, with over 50 completed daily. Surveys show that within six months of completing the course, 79% of participants have used the skills they learned to support someone, 96% feel more confident offering support, and 95% can better recognize signs of struggle.

We engage youth through programs that amplify their stories and celebrate the kinder, braver world they're already building. Channel kindness is our digital platform inviting young people to put compassion into action through storytelling and community engagement. In 2024, our editors helped 142 youth share their stories, each paired with suggested actions to inspire change. The platform has featured 2k+ stories from 61 countries to date. We also host the free channel kindness storytellers club, a writing workshop that helps youth turn their perspectives into powerful narratives. In 2024, we engaged 249 participants through virtual and in-person sessions. #bekind365, our digital platform encouraging intentional daily kindness, has engaged 55k people across 119 countries, pledging 20m+ kind acts to date.

In addition to the programs above, we connect young people with accessible, evidence-based mental health resources and conduct research that advances understanding of youth mental health. Our global youth advisory board guides our mission, collaborating on program design and execution to keep our work authentically youth-driven and impactful. Most recently in 2024, we partnered with hopelab to survey 1.2k lgbtq+ youth to explore how to build supportive online spaces. These findings will help us continue working alongside young people, community organizations, and decision-makers to improve practices and build awareness.