Events
Academy of International Studies March 24, 2026
Academy of International Studies March 24, 2026
The foundation participated in the 2nd Annual Day of Prevention, an important event for mental health awareness. It attracted numerous organizations from across CT, all committed to community support events and suicide prevention initiatives.
Health and Wellness Fair September 2025
Academy of International Studies March 24, 2026
A variety of local businesses and organizations attended the community support events to share their services and resources, including live demonstrations focused on mental health awareness and suicide prevention initiatives.
Academy of International Studies April 30, 2025
Academy of International Studies April 30, 2025
Supporting community support events focused on mental health awareness, the Academy of International Studies in Bloomfield, CT will host a Day of Prevention on April 30, 2025, aimed at promoting suicide prevention initiatives.
Middletown Mental Health Fair May 3, 2025
Academy of International Studies April 30, 2025
Middletown's First Mental Health Fair, sponsored by the Middletown Rotary Club, aims to promote mental health awareness in our community. Mental health can often be a difficult topic to discuss, even though it is a pervasive problem among adults and children in the U.S. This event is part of our community support events focused on fostering understanding and support, as well as highlighting important suicide prevention initiatives.
Health and Wellness Fair September 17, 2024
Health and Wellness Fair September 17, 2024
The Nathaniel B. Field Memorial Foundation, Inc., in collaboration with the Polish Falcons of America Nest 519, would like to extend our gratitude to all the local community members and participating agencies and businesses that contributed to the success of the Health and Wellness Fair on Tuesday, 9/28/21 in Middletown. This event not only promoted community support events but also highlighted important topics such as mental health awareness and suicide prevention initiatives.
Health and Wellness Fair September 19, 2023
Health and Wellness Fair September 17, 2024
33 local businesses and organizations participated in the annual Health and Wellness Fair, which also highlighted community support events focused on mental health awareness and suicide prevention initiatives.
Higganum Farmer's Market July 23, 2021
The Nathaniel B. Field Memorial Foundation, Inc. set up an informational booth at the Higganum Farmer's Market on July 23, 2021. It was a beautiful day that provided us the opportunity to resume our community support events, picking up where we left off pre-Covid. We want to thank all the folks who stopped by to support our mental health awareness efforts and our suicide prevention initiatives.
Haddam-Killingworth High School Holiday Telethon December 21, 2020
The Nathaniel B Field Memorial Foundation, Inc. received support from the 2020 Haddam-Killingworth High School Holiday Telethon, which was part of the community support events aimed at promoting mental health awareness and suicide prevention initiatives.
Award Winning Vassar College A Cappella Group March 8, 2020
Who are the Vassar Devils and what do they do? The Vassar Devils are a co-ed a cappella group that loves to perform music of all styles (pop songs, jazz standards, rock ballads, indie hits, etc.), as well as original music written by their members. Recently, they won a competition called Boston Sings, were named the Northeast Champions of the ICCA (International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella), and sang as one of the top 8 groups in the U.S. and U.K. at the Finals on Broadway! They also won the “Find Your Voice” a cappella songwriting competition held by The Vocal Company, were featured on POP TV’s a cappella docu-series “Sing It On”, and even gave a private performance for President and First Lady Obama at the White House in December of 2015. In May 2017, they released their first professional studio album, Coming Alive (available on iTunes and many streaming platforms!), which included various songs from their repertoire, spanning from pop, indie, classic rock, and even original music written by their own members! The process of recording and releasing Coming Alive was incredibly fulfilling––so much so that they have begun the process of recording their second professional album, which features the newest members of the group and some awesome arrangements by Devils past and present. What brings the Vassar Devils to Connecticut? Their Music Director, Lily Carmichael, attended school with Nathaniel Field at Haddam-Killingworth High School, and the Nathaniel B. Field Memorial Foundation, Inc. has a special place in her heart. They will be performing at the Killingworth Congregational Church, 273 Rt. 81, Killingworth, on Sunday, March 8, 2020 from 5:00 to 6:00 pm in support of the Foundation’s mission focused on community support events, mental health awareness, and suicide prevention initiatives, and in honor of Nathaniel's legacy. Our Foundation is honored by the group’s generosity and we look forward to an incredible evening of harmonies!
Mental Health First Aid Course A Success November 22-23, 2019
The Killingworth-based Changing Minds Advocacy Group (CMAG) recently sponsored a two-day course for Mental Health First Aid on November 22-23, 2019, at the Killingworth Firehouse. Educator Janine Sullivan-Wiley guided 30 students, including members of the Nathaniel B. Field Memorial Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors—Cecile Haase, Dawn Earley, and Howie Field—through this interactive course aimed at promoting mental health awareness. Participants gained valuable knowledge to recognize the signs, symptoms, and risk factors of mental illnesses and addictions. They learned to identify various professional and self-help resources available for individuals with mental health challenges, thereby increasing their confidence and ability to help someone in distress. The curriculum centered around the Mental Health First Aid 5-Step Action Plan, which includes assessing the risk of suicide or harm, listening nonjudgmentally, giving reassurance and information, encouraging appropriate professional help, and promoting self-help and other support strategies (ALGEE). For more information about Mental Health First Aid, visit mentalhealthfirstaid.org.
CMAG would like to extend its gratitude to the Killingworth Lions Club, HK Youth and Family Services, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Shoreline, Nathaniel B. Field Memorial Foundation, St. Lawrence Church Healing Ministries, and the Jared Coffin Memorial Fund for their support in these community support events and suicide prevention initiatives.
You’re Worth It! Team Supports AFSP Out of Darkness Walk
You’re Worth It! Team Supports AFSP Out of Darkness Walk
The Nathaniel B. Field Memorial Foundation, Inc. “You’re Worth It” team proudly participated in Niantic’s 2nd annual Out of the Darkness Community Walk, a key event supporting mental health awareness. Sponsored by the Brian Dagle Foundation and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), this event took place on Sept. 19, 2019, at McCook Park in Niantic. Local residents Alicia and Tony Sledzik, Howie Field, and John Griffo joined over 200 participants in the 2-mile walk along the Niantic Boardwalk. The goals of the Out of Darkness Walks are to raise awareness and funds for suicide prevention initiatives, which enable the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) to invest in new research, create educational programs, advocate for public policy, and support survivors of suicide loss.
Annual Forum on Suicide Prevention and Mental Health held at East Lyme High School on September 30, 2019
The Nathaniel B. Field Memorial Foundation, Inc. Vice President Christiana Field was a speaker at the Annual Forum on Suicide Prevention and Mental Health, a key community support event held at East Lyme High School on September 30, 2019. Sponsored by the Brian Dagle Foundation, this event featured a panel of speakers who provided valuable insight, education, and inspiration on mental health awareness and suicide prevention initiatives. Christiana shared her personal journey following the tragic loss of her brother Nathaniel to suicide in 2015. Additionally, she provided an overview of the Crisis Text Line and discussed her active role as a volunteer. After completing six weeks of intensive training, she began engaging in text conversations. "The goal of any conversation is to move texters from a hot moment to a calm, safe place. Sometimes that means walking a texter through a grounding exercise, providing a referral for further help, and sometimes it just means being there and listening. I’ve typically found that the majority of my conversations last between 45 minutes and one hour. During the conversation, you move through five stages: In stage 1, you build rapport through effective contact techniques like active listening and reflective language. In stage 2, you explore the issue at hand. It is during this stage that you conduct the ladder-up risk assessment, which involves four steps to assess if a texter is at imminent risk of suicide (desire, plan, means, timeframe). In stage 3, you work to identify the texter's main goal, and in stage 4, you collaboratively problem-solve. Finally, you wrap up the conversation with a warm close." On September 6th, the Crisis Text Line reached an incredible milestone of 5,026 active Crisis Counselors in the past 28 days! This growth is a great indicator of how the organization is expanding, enabling them to provide even more support to texters in crisis. During that time, the counselors handled 83,252 conversations.
Agents of Change Written by Howie Field
Since October 2018, Marie Field, president of the Nathaniel B. Field Memorial Foundation, Inc., has been serving as a Social Justice Project Consultant for Zulerlisse Colon-Martinez, a senior at Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford. The purpose of the project is to enable seniors to demonstrate their alignment with the school’s mission, showcasing their understanding of social justice and their role as agents of change. To complete the project, students are encouraged to engage with the community and participate in community support events focused on social justice issues they want to address. For her project, Zulerlisse chose to promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention initiatives among her peers. She held weekly meetings where she presented various scenarios for discussion, taught about mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression, and substance abuse, discussed warning signs of suicide, and shared resources for those seeking help. As part of the project, on April 18th, Marie spoke to a group of students about the foundation's creation and the activities we have been pursuing. The students posed thoughtful questions and provided excellent insights. Zulerlisse’s project will culminate with a presentation where the smaller group of students shares what they have learned with their classmates.
Hike For Hope
The Nathaniel B. Field Memorial Foundation Inc. “You’re Worth It!” team proudly participated in the 1st annual Hike for Hope event, a vital community support event sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention on April 13, 2019. The 3.5-mile hike through the beautiful Gay City Park in Hebron, CT, attracted over 100 hikers, all united in supporting AFSP’s ongoing efforts in mental health awareness, suicide prevention initiatives, and fostering hope within our communities.
Mental Health and Wellness Expo
The Nathaniel B. Field Memorial Foundation, Inc. participated in the Mental Health and Wellness Expo on March 23 at the Henry Carter Hull Library in Clinton. This community support event, sponsored by the Killingworth-based Changing Minds Advocacy Group, offered valuable information and support related to adult and youth mental health services, parenting support, substance abuse treatment, and mindful practices. The Expo also aimed to promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention initiatives within the community. Marie and Howie Field would like to extend their thanks to Changing Minds Advocacy Group members Melissa Ferrara, Lori Clemente, and Divanna Schmitt for organizing this important event. The Changing Minds Advocacy Group is dedicated to enhancing the quality of and access to mental health programs, services, and support for local residents.
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