Boy Raises Money To Fund Depression Research After Losing His Dad - The FULL Story

How to deal with Suicide... Shane Boylan was just 10-years-old when his father took his life, ending his battle with depression and alcoholism in January 2016. In his wake, he left behind a devastated family. His wife Aanika explained to her children that their dad died from a disease called depression. Shane didn't fully understand what depression was but he knew he had to do everything in his power to prevent something like this from happening to another family. After doing some research, Shane came up with an idea to help raise money to cure depression.

Did you know that in the U.S. depression affects over 20 million adults each year? That's one in ten adults. Shane knew he had to do something to help so he started a fundraiser. In conjunction with the Hope for Depression Research Foundation, Shane set up the Depression Doesn't Ride 10-mile bike ride fundraiser in their town of Highland Park, New Jersey in honor of his father. "My dad liked to ride his bike, so I decided to do a bike ride. We looked for someone to help us and that was Hope for Depression Research Foundation."

"Depression has been under researched and underfunded for too long. It's the #1 reason in the world for disability," said Hope for Depression's Founder Audrey Gruss.

Shane's goal was to raise $400... he ended up raising $4,000! For his unbelievable fundraising efforts, he was invited to speak at the Hope for Depression's annual luncheon. "It was a great opportunity for him to get to share his message and the work he had done," says Shane's mom, Aanika. Shane really blew everyone away with his work and speech! So he was given a brand new bike... paired with a yellow and gray helmet (the Hope for Depression's colors). He's going to need it too since he plans on making his fundraising bike ride an annual event!