About Us

Why I created the Elevate foundation

West Clare where I’m from has had a very haunting history with young people and mental health. There is no doubt in my mind that there is a serious crisis unfolding for our younger generation. I feel it is up to us to be a part of the solution.

In time to come, no doubt, we will look back with the gift of hindsight to so many changes that occurred in our society at this time. This includes a rapid evolution in technological developments affecting how human beings connect with each other and how we stay relentlessly switched on. There are obviously many progressive sides to this technological evolution, but we don’t yet have a full sense of how these changes are negatively impacting our young people’s well-being.

From our discussions with young people in Clare we learned that the stresses of modern day living can make it harder to cope with day to day life, that they are experiencing many different types of stress, depression and anxiety, and that it can be difficult to handle setbacks that come their way.

Elevate was born from these stories, and was successfully launched on the back of my adventure to the top of Mount Everest, which I summited in 2017.  I see that mountain as symbolic for the personal Everest that so many young people are facing in their own lives. The aspiration is for Elevate to play our small part in the wellness of this generation by funding the very best mental health and well-being professionals in their field to connect with young people in Co. Clare, through schools and youth organisations. We fund mindfulness programmes, resilience workshops, powerful inspiration talks, emotional well-being workshops, youth community events, youth counselling, and other great initiatives as they arise.

It is my hope that the programmes that Elevate fund can authentically connect with young people who are seeking some tools to use personally to overcome whatever difficulties they might be experiencing. It is also for those who might be yet to face their mountain teaching them in advance an understanding that there are tools and techniques available to help them conquer tough times, if and when they come.

Elevate is a small cog in the wheel of mental health and well-being for young people in Clare but it has been welcomed openly and supported by many, which we are so grateful for. I hope that as we grow we can adapt to always seek to find the best techniques, programmes, and people to work with.  We hope that our profile and activities, which connect with thousands of people every year, along with our online discussion can help to normalise and humanise the dialogue around mental health.

We also hope that the young people of Clare come to know that it’s a part of being human to not feel okay, that all of us go through hard times at different periods in our lives, and that tools, techniques and support is always available to help navigate our way through.  Mountain by mountain, we hope that our younger generations can conquer their personal Everest’s, elevate their journeys, and life their lives to the fullest.

John Burke – Founder of Elevate