Grace and David A. Gallagher (Photo by Beth Furgurson)
A Virginia Commonwealth University alumnus’ advocacy of teen and childhood mental health has earned him the school’s Edward H. Peeples Jr. Award for Social Justice. The honor, bestowed last fall, goes to David A. Gallagher, who, with his wife, Grace, founded the Cameron K. Gallagher Foundation, which seeks to help teens battling depression.
The foundation is named for their late daughter, who had dealt with depression and anxiety and had decided to organize races as a way to raise awareness and combat the stigma about mental illness in teens. Cameron was 16 when she died from a heart condition after her first half-marathon in 2014.
In addition to their work with the foundation, the Gallaghers have also given $50,000 toward the Virginia Treatment Center for Children (VTCC) Children’s Mental Health Resource Center that is set to open in 2017, according to a release.
