THE MELANIE FOUNDATION INC Information

The Melanie Foundation was created in 2006 to honor the life and legacy of Melanie Merola O'Donnell, with the mission to foster support for mental health issues. Melanie lived a life of giving, focusing her career on relieving suffering inflicted by mental illness. Melanie died at the age of 33 while in the midst of doctoral studies in psychology. Her family and friends subsequently collaborated to bring The Melanie Foundation to life, with the initial goal of providing scholarships to people who had the best chance of extending Melanie's legacy, graduate students in a mental health field. The Melanie Foundation's most significant fundraiser, The Saratoga Palio, has become a signature event in Saratoga each fall. Its success has helped The Melanie Foundation expand its support of aspiring mental health practitioners. The success also has enabled The Melanie Foundation to give back to Saratoga Springs - the community that gave us Melanie. Since 2009, The Melanie Foundation has awarded a scholarship in her name to an outstanding post-graduate student in the field of mental health. In addition, a portion of funds raised each year are donated to local nonprofit organizations. In 2019, a charitable donation was made to SNACpack Program . Since January 2015, every week, approximately 10 volunteers have come together at St. Clement's Church to pack approximately 140 backpacks full of child-friendly, non-perishable, easily consumed foods for distribution. In 2018, a charitable donation was made to The Latino Community Advocacy Program . The Latino Community Advocacy Program is a service of Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council that provides interpreting, advocacy and educational programming to Latino immigrants in Saratoga County. In 2017, a charitable donation was made to The Senior Support Services of the Saratoga Senior Center . The Senior Support Services of the Saratoga Senior Center is working to empower seniors to achieve and maintain personal independence and individual well being. In 2016, a ...