Over-The-Rainbow Gala Fundraising Dinner

Woody Allen said, “80% of success in life is showing up.” Thank you for showing up tonight.

On October 22, 2009, we lost our son and only child to suicide at the age of 26. He was suffering from manic depression and lost his battle to the illness. It was a parent’s worst nightmare—and the darkest time of our life. His suicide was also a wake up call, for us as parents, but for the society as a whole. Our son was a very caring and compassionate person. His life, his passing and legacy became the inspiration and the genesis of our family foundation, and Over-The-Rainbow (OTR) youth mental wellness initiative.

We started from a humble beginning—with just two founders and a few family friends as volunteers – a website, Facebook page, brochure—first event, first initiative—slowly momentum built and soon gathered steam—one thing led to another—OTR has since grown into a recognised force in the mental health space.

Last year we celebrated our 10-year milestone. Since launching in October 2012, OTR has been a pioneer and trailblazer in the space of youth mental wellness—innovating and pushing the mental health envelope with countless programs and initiatives—where relentless innovations is a constant driving force to create positive change.

These initiatives and activities collectively have touched nearly a million lives through both online and offline touch-points, and transformed many others.

This year marks the 11th anniversary of Over-The-Rainbow. Tonight we celebrate this special occasion with you—all our friends—the OTR family.
A member of the family could not make it tonight. She passed away just over a week ago after battling cancer for nearly 25 years. We attended her wake last weekend. She had purchased a pair of tickets to the Gala and was planning to attend with her husband, in support of OTR.
Which brings us to reflect on the impermanence of life. Life is precious, yet so fragile— life is short. You may think your loved ones are going to be around forever, but they are also impermanent, just like you. So if you can do something to make them happy, do it today. Don’t wait. Be grateful for the gifts we have in life. So when you go home tonight, don’t forget to tell your loved ones that you love them.

Tonight’s Gala theme: “Rainbow Connection—You Are Not Alone. It’s time that you reconnect with old friends, and make new friends.
OTR embraces the vision of mental wellness as a top priority in life, the importance of community support, and where every young person is given the opportunity to realize their full potential via the journey of self-discovery, healing and transformation—to attain true happiness and optimal wellbeing.

We provide an environment where young people can find themselves, discover their higher self, connect to their purpose and spread their wings—where they can transform and transcend—and thrive—via holistic self-care and a supportive community. No one is alone on this journey.
Early on, we recognized the importance of getting parents involved. Since organizing our first parenting symposium in 2017, we’ve since started a series of webinars and fireside chats around all matters related to parenting and youth mental health: Parenting in a VUCA world, Purposeful Parenting—One Happy Family, Raising an Entrepreneur, Parenting with Love and C.A.R.E, Compassion in Family Relationships, Suicide Prevention, etc. Parents are the first line of support—they are the guardians of youth mental health. Parents themselves also need support. It takes a village.
What was started from the ashes of a heart-shattering family tragedy has transformed into a thriving organization with a mission that turned into a movement to transform mental wellness for the 21st century.

Thank you for showing up tonight, for being on this journey with us, for your unwavering support, your faith and belief in this mission to bring mental wellbeing to all facets of the society.

We spent the first 10 years creating a community, building the platform, innovating, pushing the envelope, learning the ropes, earning trust and gaining credibility, finding our way—showing what’s possible—overcoming countless obstacles along the way—and setting the stage for the next 10 years.

Looking back, Over-The-Rainbow has been able to achieve so much as a small private nonprofit organization—the support rendered to so many youths, their families and the community at large—only because of the heart and soul—and hard work of our people including our volunteers—the kind contributions from our partners, and the generosity of our donors. It takes a village. And it takes a vision.

We have a dream, a vision of Universal Mental Wellbeing. This vision has its foundation in good self-care habits that is holistic and transformative—with Wellbeing Champions leading the way—parents, teachers, friends, peers—whether at home, in the school, out in the community or in the workplace—this is our community-based model of care—supplemented by the traditional face-to-face counseling and psychotherapy for those who need acute mental health care. We call this ecosystem the Circle-of-Care. This is our strategic platform.

The journey in mental wellness begins with each of us—it begins the moment we decide to take ownership / personal responsibility for our own mental wellbeing. We need to be the change—to get our inside right. When we can get our inside right—the outside will fall into place. The change manifested within then radiates outwards—from the core to the shell—inside to the outside. This inside-out transformation—creating this Circle of Care around us and around each other—is what makes the vision of Universal Mental Wellbeing possible, and well within sight.
It’s been a long and winding road—with plenty of blood, sweat and tears along the way—and personal sacrifices made. We have not taken a salary for 13 years—we’ve also poured in our own substantial life’s savings. I’ve personally devoted full time building this platform and several other platforms for social good. It’s national service—pure and simple. It is also a choice that we made—taking a path less traveled: there is no mountain high enough, no valley low enough, no river wide enough—on this journey to plant more seeds of happiness, healing, transformation and wellbeing in the world.

OTR is the little engine that could—an engine with a soul. This engine is increasingly being powered by digital—combining high-touch human-centered care with high-tech digital enablement. What started out as a mission that turned into a movement is now an obsession to transform mental wellness for the 21st century.

At OTR, we are reimagining—redefining the future of mental wellbeing. Today you got a glimpse of what this future looks like. Join us to create this new future.

Thank you all very much, and good night.