Established in 2014 after losing Jordan Elizabeth Harris to su***de, The Jordan Elizabeth Harris Foundation was established, connecting the community by working to prevent su***de, eliminate stigma, and provide hope to people struggling with depression. A note from the family:
On March 27, 2012, we lost Jordan (Jo), a young lady who touched hundreds of people in her short life with extraordinary l
ove, tenderness and kindness. She was the oldest of three children in the Harris family of North Richland Hills, Texas and had an incredibly close bond with her siblings and parents while she was with her family in this life. Jo's sole passion in life was to help others, regardless of their need and always with a beautiful smile on her face. From the time she was a toddler, she simply made people smile and laugh so hard that one might cry. Her sense of humor was endless and there was never a lack of practical jokes being played with close friends and family. Jo was truly gifted, and there were few things she couldn't do. She was constantly challenging herself to try new things, take new adventures and come up with new ideas on how to make this world a better place. She was Valedictorian of her high school class, a National Merit Scholarship award winner, a Stamps Scholar at the University of Michigan, an athlete, a musician and most importantly a warm, friendly, beautiful young lady. She accomplished much in a very short time with tremendous humility and with her feet firmly planted on the ground. She couldn't give enough back. Through her efforts with United 2 Heal (a Ghana healthcare relief effort), the Battered Women's Shelter in Boston, Catholic Charities in Fort Worth and many other philanthropic efforts, Jordan continually demonstrated a tremendous desire to help those who were most in need. Her major at Michigan was Organizational Studies, a course of study focused on developing and educating students who plan on entering the philanthropic community. Jo's friends and family will tell you she lit up the room when she entered and was passionate about making people around her feel good about themselves. This virtue, along with Jo's desire to make a difference in this world, makes it difficult to understand why she was taken from us at such an early age. Jo suffered from severe depression the last six months of her life, which led to her death. For the previous 22 years of her life, she was a gift from God that made our world a much better place to live.