Zoom Announces Funding for Youth Mental Health Leaders at MTV Entertainment’s Mental Health Youth Action Forum

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Zoom Cares, the social impact arm of Zoom Video Communications, Inc, announced $165,000 of funding to a collection of 30 mental health leaders (link to recipient bios) advocating for the health of young people at MTV Entertainment’s (MTVE) first-ever Mental Health Youth Action Forum. The forum in Washington, D.C., launched in coordination with the Biden-Harris Administration and 18 leading mental health nonprofits, was created to move society from awareness to action on mental health through storytelling and media.

“Elevating and resourcing young leaders who know first hand what their communities need to thrive is critical now more than ever before,” said Roxana Shirkhoda, Head of Social Impact at Zoom. “We are grateful for the opportunity to provide these 30 Mental Health Youth Action Forum advocates with funds. We look forward to the accessible and culturally relevant resources these leaders will continue developing for marginalized young people - including BIPOC, low-income, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities.”

Zoom, along with more than a dozen media and technology companies, participated in MTV Entertainment’s first-ever Mental Health Youth Action Forum to amplify action-driven ideas developed and presented by the Forum’s 30 young mental health leaders.

Zoom’s Impact
Zoom recognizes the responsibility as a global company to move resources and make a positive impact where it is most needed. Through a community-centered grantmaking approach, Zoom Cares provided more than $16.5 million in global grant funding and in-kind product donations in 2021. Some highlights include:

• Partnering with Taraji P. Henson, founder of Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation, to raise $550,000 for BIPOC communities facing mental health challenges
• Turning to an advisory council of members with lived experience and career knowledge in addressing mental health challenges to advise Zoom Cares on moving $2 million to organizations that support the well-being of young people
• Supporting global communities with an additional $500,000 in support to mental health communities in Brazil and Japan focused on serving youth and communities of color
  

To learn more about Zoom Cares and its philanthropic activities, product donations, employee impact, and more, read the annual Zoom Cares Social Impact Report.

MTV’s Mental Health Youth Action Forum
Leveraging its decades-long history of sparking conversations about mental health, in 2021 MTVE launched Mental Health is Health, a multi-year initiative to tackle the nation’s growing health crisis by harnessing the power of storytelling to normalize mental health conversations and inspire action. As part of that initiative, MTVE, along with 18 leading mental health non-profits, announced the first convening to empower young people to drive culture from awareness to action on mental health through storytelling and media. Senior officials from the Biden-Harris Administration, including from the Department of Health and Human Services, spoke at today’s Mental Health Youth Action Forum, which included a White House event. For more information on the Forum and participants, visit here.

About Zoom Cares
Zoom Cares, the social impact arm of Zoom, leverages the full strength of its business to foster equity, democratize opportunity, and advance systemic justice. Zoom Cares envisions a more just society for people and the planet we all share. For more information, read the annual Zoom Cares Social Impact Report.

About Zoom
Zoom is for you. We help you express ideas, connect to others, and build toward a future limited only by your imagination. Our frictionless communications platform is the only one that started with video as its foundation, and we have set the standard for innovation ever since. That is why we are an intuitive, scalable, and secure choice for individuals, small businesses, and large enterprises alike. Founded in 2011, Zoom is publicly traded (NASDAQ:ZM) and headquartered in San Jose, California. Visit zoom.com and follow @zoom.

Zoom Public Relations
Candace Dean
Corporate PR Lead
press@zoom.us