The Ryan Luke Foundation
About Ryan
This foundation was set up to honor a loved brother, son, cousin, nephew, and friend that we unexpectedly lost February 18, 2023 due to suicide. To know Ryan was to love him, from his sarcastic and goofy personality to the truly loving person that he was, his presence was always known wherever he was.
He was raised by a single mother most of his life and was the best older brother to his sister Payton who was born when he was fourteen. The three of them had a bond like no other. Ryan was born and raised in Port Richmond, a close-knit community in Northeast Philadelphia where he attended North Catholic High School before it was closed when he then transferred to Roman Catholic. After High School he worked in the Mansonary union.
He was an extremely hard worker but in his free time, he hung with friends and family, enjoyed the beach with a cold Bud Light Lime or Corona light, and a fan of Philly sports teams. You could catch him playing baggo, hanging with his pitbull Chief, at a family party, down the shore, or out and about with friends in the neighborhood.
Like most men, Ryan suffered with mental illness internally and masked it most of the time with a smile or a joke therefore the loss was extremely unexpected. The family has been struggling to understand what we could have done to change things so we are putting in the time and energy to ensure that his name is never forgotten and hopefully help other families avoid this pain that we've been enduring since Ryan left us.
About the Foundation
Our Mission:
As a way to carry on the memory of Ryan, his family established a 501(c)(3) foundation to both gather his friends and family to celebrate his life regularly as well as contribute to helping with the mental health crisis in our local area. In setting up this foundation, we are hoping to continue to raise funds that can be donated to general suicide foundations as well as support local families in situations similar to that of Ryan's upbringing.
Some Mental Health and Suicide Statistics:
-
Over 49,000 people died by suicide in 2022. That is one death every 11 minutes.
-
In 2022, men died by suicide 3.85 times more than women
-
It is estimated that more than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness (59.3 million in 2022; 23.1% of the U.S. adult population).
SPONSORSHIP DETAILS
-
Proceeds from our annual golf events support sponsorships for local youth, selected based on submitted surveys. To review our application process or qualifications, click here.
-
Since starting the foundation, sponsorships have totaled $8,000.
-
Notable Donors to Our Foundation:Dorothy and Anthony Bardaro Foundation
