Vera Foundation Has Been Dissolved
On behalf of The Vera Foundation and The Fisher Family, I want to thank all of you for your support of both The Vera Foundation and my family over the last four years. On November 2, 2009 The Vera Foundation’s Board of Directors voted in favor of dissolving The Vera Foundation. Although it is with a heavy heart that I write this I feel strongly that this was the right decision.
For several months I struggled with the thought of dissolving The Vera Foundation. A non-profit corporation needs a strong Board of Directors to be run efficiently. My hope was that by this time we would have had a strong board of directors with knowledge regarding non-profits in many different aspects, and unfortunately that is not the case. Emotionally this was a hard decision for me to come to but, after much thought I knew I had to put my emotions aside and make the decision to dissolve.
All remaining assets of The Vera Foundation have been conveyed as a gift to Medical Care Development, a Maine nonprofit corporation that is classified as a tax-exempt under internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3), for the purposes of supporting the Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.
I will continue to do my work regarding suicide prevention, awareness and education through the Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program, as well as with the many other contacts I have made and the organizations that I have helped over the last four years. I feel that I will be able to do so much more to contribute to this cause without having all the responsibilities and stress that is involved in running a nonprofit foundation.
The Fisher Family will personally continue to award the Scott William Fisher Jr. Memorial Scholarship at Deering High School. We will also continue to host the Annual Deering Alumni Soccer Game. Next year’s game is scheduled for July 17th, 2010.
The Vera Foundation Website will be shut down at some point over the next couple of months. For information regarding the scholarship and the Alumni Game, please visit the www.scottwilliamfisher.com site which will remain online. If you would like to continue your support of the game or donate to the scholarship, please contact me directly at sandyf3@maine.rr.com or 207-632-0303.
Again I can’t thank those of you who supported our cause enough. Without your support we would not have been able to accomplish the things we did over the past four years.
As I said, I will continue my work with suicide prevention, education and awareness and I would like to remind you of things we all can do to prevent suicide.
- Eliminate the word commit when you speak of suicide. Commit implies a level of criminality and our loved ones died from a disease and did not commit a crime.
- Educate yourself.
- Learn the warning signs of suicide.
- Help to remove the stigma, the next time you are out in public and talking about suicide, depression or mental illness; please do not lower your voice. There is no shame.
As it says on The Vera foundation t-shirts: "A Single Suicide in our community is ONE SUICIDE too many.
I still believe that together as a community we can save lives. Suicide prevention is up to all of us.
Sincerly,
Sandra Fisher
Scott William Fisher Jr Memorial Scholarship
The Fisher Family will personally continue to award the Scott William Fisher Jr. Memorial Scholarship at Deering High School. For more information, please visit www.scottwilliamfisher.com.
Annual Deering Alumni Soccer Game
The Fisher Family will continue to host the Annual Deering Alumni Soccer Game. Next year’s game is scheduled for July 17th, 2010. For more information, please visit www.scottwilliamfisher.com.