Our
Mission
The mission of the Imogen Roche Foundation is to build emotional resilience and support mental health in children and teens through project-based learning, social engagement, youth leadership and literacy.
Why
Literacy?
Much of the work of IF – past, present and future – centers on storytelling and active listening. On a human level, literacy has two purposes:
– To be seen and heard
– To see, hear and understand so that we do not feel alone.
Literacy has practical applications, and multiple literacy skills are necessary for a person to be a viable worker in our society, but what originally made humans literate was a need to connect to one another. Becoming literate, therefore, should not be a chore; it should be a pleasure. In order to pursue our goals of social emotional learning and academic support, we tap into the power of storytelling to incentivize the development of essential skills and empower youth voices. Stories come in many forms: in words, in colors, in movements, in sounds, and in numbers. Our programs explore multiple literacies across disciplines to engage students, develop their interests, build skills and confidence, and connect them to each other.
How We
Got Here
Imogen Roche passed away suddenly in 2018 at 15 years of age.
Her father founded the organization with the original intention of caring for her peers, who were experiencing shock and grief, and who were struggling with the loss of an essential person in their lives. Imogen had been the friend who everybody leaned on. She was the shoulder to cry on, the ear that listened, and the calming voice on the other end of the phone that let her friends know that it’s OK not to feel OK. Her absence created a profound void in the lives of dozens of teenagers.
Bringing together a leadership committee of mostly teens (and a few adults), Imogen’s father began to build IF. The group planned and implemented large public events, in which hundreds of teens and adults came together to tell stories, express grief, and support one another. The teens kept meeting for roundtable discussions to workshop ideas and to form an ongoing mission of teaching children and teens to support one another.
Identifying what it was that Imogen provided to her friends during her lifetime, and how she did it, created a direction forward for her peers. If we can all learn how to be a little bit like Imogen, we can all still have a little Imogen in our lives.
Programs
Our Partners
Our Mission
The mission of the Imogen Roche Foundation is to build emotional resilience and support mental health in children and teens through project-based learning, social engagement, youth leadership and literacy.
Why Literacy?
Much of the work of IF – past, present and future – centers on storytelling and active listening. On a human level, literacy has two purposes:
– To be seen and heard
– To see, hear and understand so that we do not feel alone.
Literacy has practical applications, and multiple literacy skills are necessary for a person to be a viable worker in our society, but what originally made humans literate was a need to connect to one another. Becoming literate, therefore, should not be a chore; it should be a pleasure. In order to pursue our goals of social emotional learning and academic support, we tap into the power of storytelling to incentivize the development of essential skills and empower youth voices. Stories come in many forms: in words, in colors, in movements, in sounds, and in numbers. Our programs explore multiple literacies across disciplines to engage students, develop their interests, build skills and confidence, and connect them to each other.
How We Got Here
Imogen Roche passed away suddenly in 2018 at 15 years of age.
Her father founded the organization with the original intention of caring for her peers, who were experiencing shock and grief, and who were struggling with the loss of an essential person in their lives. Imogen had been the friend who everybody leaned on. She was the shoulder to cry on, the ear that listened, and the calming voice on the other end of the phone that let her friends know that it’s OK not to feel OK. Her absence created a profound void in the lives of dozens of teenagers.
Bringing together a leadership committee of mostly teens (and a few adults), Imogen’s father began to build IF. The group planned and implemented large public events, in which hundreds of teens and adults came together to tell stories, express grief, and support one another. The teens kept meeting for roundtable discussions to workshop ideas and to form an ongoing mission of teaching children and teens to support one another.
Identifying what it was that Imogen provided to her friends during her lifetime, and how she did it, created a direction forward for her peers. If we can all learn how to be a little bit like Imogen, we can all still have a little Imogen in our lives.
Programs
Our Partners
Our Mission
The mission of the Imogen Roche Foundation is to build emotional resilience and support mental health in children and teens through project-based learning, social engagement, youth leadership and literacy.
Why Literacy?
Much of the work of IF – past, present and future – centers on storytelling and active listening. On a human level, literacy has two purposes:
– To be seen and heard
– To see, hear and understand so that we do not feel alone.
Literacy has practical applications, and multiple literacy skills are necessary for a person to be a viable worker in our society, but what originally made humans literate was a need to connect to one another. Becoming literate, therefore, should not be a chore; it should be a pleasure. In order to pursue our goals of social emotional learning and academic support, we tap into the power of storytelling to incentivize the development of essential skills and empower youth voices. Stories come in many forms: in words, in colors, in movements, in sounds, and in numbers. Our programs explore multiple literacies across disciplines to engage students, develop their interests, build skills and confidence, and connect them to each other.
How We Got Here
Imogen Roche passed away suddenly in 2018 at 15 years of age.
Her father founded the organization with the original intention of caring for her peers, who were experiencing shock and grief, and who were struggling with the loss of an essential person in their lives. Imogen had been the friend who everybody leaned on. She was the shoulder to cry on, the ear that listened, and the calming voice on the other end of the phone that let her friends know that it’s OK not to feel OK. Her absence created a profound void in the lives of dozens of teenagers.
Bringing together a leadership committee of mostly teens (and a few adults), Imogen’s father began to build IF. The group planned and implemented large public events, in which hundreds of teens and adults came together to tell stories, express grief, and support one another. The teens kept meeting for roundtable discussions to workshop ideas and to form an ongoing mission of teaching children and teens to support one another.
Identifying what it was that Imogen provided to her friends during her lifetime, and how she did it, created a direction forward for her peers. If we can all learn how to be a little bit like Imogen, we can all still have a little Imogen in our lives.
Programs
Our Partners
