The Orchard was honored with the Media Award for Leadership in Mental Health by non-profit organization The JED Foundation Monday, June 4th at Cipriani Wall Street. Other honorees at JED’s 17th annual gala event included Morgan Stanley and Chirlane McCray, the First Lady of New York City. The event was hosted by Emmy-winning comedian and political commentator Larry Wilmore, most famous for co-creating the shows Black-ish and Insecure, and for being a correspondent on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
The Orchard received this honor in large part due to the Mindful Vinyl initiative, which aims to further the discussion around mental health issues by releasing albums on green vinyl (green being the color most commonly associated with mental health awareness). The honor came on the heels of the June 1 re-release of Living Colour’s Stain, the fifth album to be issued as part of the initiative. Other titles in the initiative have come from Geto Boys and Bad Brains. Mindful Vinyl creator Mike Heyliger was on hand to accept the award, with other employees from The Orchard present including Sammy Pisano and Leal Vona.
The JED Foundation was created to protect emotional health and prevent suicide for our nation’s teens and young adults. They partner with high schools and colleges to strengthen their mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention programming and systems. Additionally, JED equips teens and young adults with the skills and support to grow into healthy, thriving adults; and they encourage community awareness, understanding and action for young adult mental health.
Collectively, over two million dollars was raised for JED programs during this event.
