Our Story

After losing John Clever Kelly to his battle with OCD, The JCK Foundation started its mission to improve the state of youth mental health.

Who was
John Kelly?

John had an unbelievable instinct for kindness — he was the one who would listen to you until you felt safe, the one always looking out for the underdog, the one empowering the socially isolated. John Kelly spent his life searching for ways to help others alongside a decade-long effort to alleviate his own OCD and depression. Even with his warm smile and willing ear, John lost his battle to OCD just days before his 25th birthday. The sense of connection and community he spread kept him on this earth longer than we deserved.

The JCK Foundation was started by John Tessitore — a friend and mentee of John Kelly. 17 years ago, when Kelly learned Tessitore also suffered from OCD and Depression, he took him under his wing and made him feel comfortable in his own skin. The support and love Kelly provided for Tessitore, and so many others, is the reason we believe connection and community are the key building blocks of mental health. To honor Kelly’s vision, we work together with communities and schools to improve mental wellness and resilience amongst our youth. We believe progress can be made one school at a time, through hands-on awareness and prevention programs that encourage an understanding that every person and story needs to feel valued, accepted and motivated to make a positive impact. The same comfort, love and confidence Kelly provided to so many is what we try to provide to every student we interact with in our “Legends Program.”

We truly believe that ONE person can make a massive difference in the world, and that person is you. Every time you go out of your way to make someone else feel better about what they are going through mentally, not only are you helping that person and giving them hope, you are making the lives of every person they impact so much better.

When you have the courage to be more open about what you are going through mentally, not only are you keeping John Kelly's legacy alive, but you are making this world so much brighter and giving other people hope. Never underestimate your impact <3

John had an unbelievable instinct for kindness — he was the one who would listen to you until you felt safe, the one always looking out for the underdog, the one empowering the socially isolated. John Kelly spent his life searching for ways to help others alongside a decade-long effort to alleviate his own OCD and depression. Even with his warm smile and willing ear, John lost his battle to OCD just days before his 25th birthday. The sense of connection and community he spread kept him on this earth longer than we deserved.