Ballas Foundation

Ballas Foundation History:

After the death of Shirley’s brother and Mark’s Uncle, David Rich in 2003, both needed time to deal with their grief.

Founded in 2010 by Ballroom Dance Legend Shirley Ballas and her Dancer/Performer son Mark Ballas ("Dancing with the Stars"), the Ballas Foundation funds su***de prevention and mental health programs throughout the United States. While their friends and family knew of David’s su***de, Mark and Shirley did not speak about it publicly. In early 2010 they jointly decided that the time had come to “go

public” with their story. They participated in several events generating awareness of su***de prevention. In September of 2010 Shirley used her 50th Birthday Party as a fundraising event to support su***de prevention awareness programs. That party was the catalyst for the creation of The Ballas Foundation. Mark and Shirley wanted to raise money and be able to direct what programs they would fund with the proceeds from their efforts. The major focus of The Ballas Foundation is in the area of public awareness of su***de prevention. Mark and Shirley devote time to draw attention to the mental disorders and signs of potential suicidal tendencies and to enlist other people to raise their voices to bring awareness to this growing social issue. Together, they have directed The Ballas Foundation to do whatever possible to secure continued funding for mental health awareness and su***de prevention programs across the country. Through education and effective programs, The Ballas Foundation is dedicated to creating social awareness to broaden horizons to understanding and preventing su***de through research, education and advocacy. As our foundation grows, our mission will remain clear: We will continue to make funds available to not-for-profit organizations and provide programs to the community that cross socioeconomic and multicultural lines. We will always work towards fostering dynamic social change – to break the cycle of people not being aware of the signs of mental health disorders and su***de awareness – through innovative initiatives.

04/08/2013

My heart goes out to the Warren family and my deepest condolences for their loss. We understand what a devastating and hard time this is. If we can offer any resources through the Ballas Foundation to help in anyway, please let us know.

Another clip from today's Out of the Darkness episode of The Ricki Lake Show featuring Congresswoman Grace Napolitano an...
11/10/2012

Another clip from today's Out of the Darkness episode of The Ricki Lake Show featuring Congresswoman Grace Napolitano and Mark Ballas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18wvYJ6O0CQ

Rep. Grace F. Napolitano joins Dancing with the Stars celebrity, Mark Ballas on the Ricki Lake Show to talk about su***de prevention and survival. The episod...

A short clip from the Out of the Darkness episode of The Ricki Lake Show featuring Mark and Shirley Ballas. Be sure and...
11/09/2012

A short clip from the Out of the Darkness episode of The Ricki Lake Show featuring Mark and Shirley Ballas. Be sure and tune in today for the entire episode!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBMXutnhN-c

Mark Ballas lost his mother's brother to su***de in 2003. Mark says his uncle was like a father to him, so the loss was devastating. Out of the tragedy, the ...

09/16/2012

If you registered your Ralphs Club Card to support TBF, you need to register again every September.

Thanks to everyone who made yesterday's Ricki Lake Show so educational and empowering. Here's a pic of Ricki with the g...
08/24/2012

Thanks to everyone who made yesterday's Ricki Lake Show so educational and empowering.

Here's a pic of Ricki with the guests on the show. Mark and Shirley flank Ricki. Next to Shirley is Dr. Kita Curry from Didi Hirsch Mental Health Center. Third from the right is Congresswoman Grace Napolitano, Chair of the Congressional Mental Health Caucus and the driving force behind the Mental Health in Schools Act.

08/24/2012

Mark & Shirley taped an episode of the Ricki Lake show today about su***de prevention. Great to see that Ricki is really championing this cause and bringing it to the forefront. Pictures soon and will post the airdate as soon as we know.

07/04/2012

Happy 4th of July to all our supporters in the U.S. Have a great holiday - be safe.

Congratulations to Mark Ballas and Shirley Ballas for being nominated as Leadership Team for the Los Angeles Business Jo...
06/20/2012

Congratulations to Mark Ballas and Shirley Ballas for being nominated as Leadership Team for the Los Angeles Business Journal Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship Awards. Here's a picture of Laura Levinsky, who helps run the Ballas Foundation, with Mark and Shirley's award from today's program.

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Woodland Hills, CA
91364

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