May is Mental Health Awareness Month! If you have been reading this blog for the past few years you know that every May we write an article focusing on Mental Health Awareness. You can read some of the articles here and here. This year we thought we would share HIKE for Mental Health’s (HFMH) Year-in-Review, focusing on how we, including all of you, have raised mental health awareness!
Hikes for Mental Health
As you may know HFMH’s mission is to organize hikes to promote the benefits of hiking while funding mental health research and trail conservation. In 2025 you helped us raise more than $66,000 from our hikes, including:
- $44,000 from Summit Mt. Washington (up from $40,000 in in 2024)
- $7,000 from Hike Your Own Hike hikers
- $6,500 from #hikeOctober
- $4,500 from Eisenhower & Garfield
- $2,700 from Hike the Giant
- $1,800 from Black Mountain
- $1,200 from Blood Mountain
- $200 from ATC hikers
- $200 from Cucumber Falls
- $100 from Congaree
2025’s contributions bring the total of funds distributed by HFMH to more than one million dollars…. $1,048,268.78 to be exact! Let me repeat that.
This year’s contributions bring our cumulative total of funds distributed to more than $1 million!
Woo-Hoo!!! These funds are distributed primarily to the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (80%), the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Pacific Crest Trail Association, and the Continental Divide Trail Coalition. You can read more about the donations, and these organizations go by clicking here.
In addition, we received several monetary donations to assist with our operating costs, for which we are extremely grateful. This includes:
- $5,000 from Companion Bakery, as a result of our membership in 1% for the Planet
- $5,000 from the Martin Family Foundation
- $3,205 from Iron & Pine Tattoo Company
- $774 from Clarement Savings Bank
Increased Web and In-Person Presence
In the past couple of years our web-based presence has increased via our blog and Facebook content. We have had over 40 articles written by our volunteers and posted on our blog, all with the goal of raising mental health knowledge and awareness. There is a large array of topics. If you have not read some of them, take a moment to check them out here. In addition, in this blog post Eric Kohlhepp shared his personal experience of how hiking changed, and saved, his life. We thank all of those who have contributed to our blog, and in doing so, are raising mental health awareness.
Thanks to volunteer Mark Langdon, our Facebook page has had an increase in posts and information shared in 2025. Again, with the goal of raising mental health awareness by sharing all of the work HFMH is doing. Mark also organized our booth for the Boston Outdoor Expo, and he maintains our store on Printify. Thank you Mark!! If you are looking for HFMH merchandise and really cool swag, click here.
What To Expect In 2026
We had a busy 2025 and are very excited about what is to come in 2026. This year, we will continue to run our annual hikes and events, including:
- Summit Mt. Washington
- 10th annual #hikeOctober
- Hike the Giant
- Black Mountain Oktoberfest
- Appalachian Trail
- Pacific Crest Trail
- Continental Divide Trail
- Hike Your Own Hike
Additional hikes will be added throughout the year as volunteers come forward. If you are interested in creating your own hike, click here. If you are interested in sponsoring a hike, click here. We also plan to attend Appalachian Trail Days in Damascus, VA, in May this year. If you are there, please stop by and say hello!
How You Can Help
To stay informed, we invite you to continue to read our blog, share our website and mission with others, shop our store, and follow us on Facebook. The support we get goes a long way in raising mental health awareness. Thank you!
We can’t do it without you!!
