The Gavin D. Lux Memorial Fund
Gavin’s spirit, smile and laughter is kept alive through our efforts to increase awareness of suicide and suicide prevention. These efforts include participating in walks for American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, raising awareness for World Suicide Prevention Day, providing scholarships to young adults at Westlake High School and Elmhurst College, supporting education and programming, and participating in research.
The Gavin D. Lux Memorial Fund is administered through the Cleveland Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are 100% tax deductible.
Through the amazing generosity of family, friends, corporations, and businesses, the GDL Memorial Fund raised nearly $100,000 since its inception.
What We Do
WESTLAKE HIGH SCHOOL Gavin D. Lux Memorial Scholarship
Our belief is that achieving a high grade point average or being the best athlete on the team should not be the only criteria for determining who deserves to be recognized with a scholarship. In this way, the Gavin D. Lux Memorial Scholarship is awarded to a Westlake High School senior athlete who demonstrates superior character, a strong work ethic, good sportsmanship, and a commitment to serving others. Recipients are chosen based on their desire to make a meaningful contribution to society both present and future, involvement in community, school, and work activities, goal-minded aspirations with evidence of integrity, resolution, self-discipline and judgment, demonstration of leadership characteristics and skills, and most importantly, display of grit when faced with hardship.
Recipients
2020: Giovanna Caatanzarite
2021: Michael Stenger
2022: Mackey Keenan
Elmhurst university Gavin D. Lux Endowed Scholarship fund
The Gavin D. Lux Endowed Scholarship Fund was established at Elmhurst University in 2021. Annually, Elmhurst University awards a sholarship to a student who is pursuing a business major, actively involved in the community, and demonstrates a financial need.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
On October 19, 2019, a group of 21 walked the Cleveland Out of the Darkness Walk in support of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Other family and friends walked in Arizona, St. Louis, and Chicago on various dates.
Learn more about Out of the Darkness Walks in your community.
The AFSP is the only national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research and education, and to reaching out to people with mood disorders and those affected by suicide.
Suicide Awareness & Prevention Programming
Gavin’s family and friends continue to speak openly about suicide awareness and prevention. Funding is provided annually to the American Society for Suicide Awareness to support programming.
Research
Looking for an outlet for their pain and to find ways to keep suicide from happening to others, two of Gavin’s family members participated in a first-of-its-kind study conducted by the New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University Department of Psychiatry. The goal of the “Survive Together” research project is to examine the thoughts, feelings, and brain-response patterns that individuals develop in the acute stage of suicide-loss to determine which resilience tools help them grow and thrive. The knowledge gained will serve as a basis for a treatment strategy so that others may be more effectively supported in the future.
