Performing to Save Lives

Suicide is one of the leading causes of early death in our nation. We lose an average of 113 young people each week to this tragedy. Suicide is a national health crisis that currently ranks as the 2nd leading cause of death for youth ages 10 – 24.

What we Know:  suicide is Preventable. Education and activism is the key.

The Hillsborough Music Festival was established in 2009 to celebrate New Jersey's diverse and eclectic performance community and promote the arts in Hillsborough, NJ and surrounding areas. In 2010 following the tragic suicide of 17 year-old Jonah Johnson, a popular and dynamic Hillsborough resident, the mission of the festival was expanded to raise funds for youth suicide prevention, a cause that touches us all.

The proceeds for this gofundme campaign—which runs in coordination with the June 29, 2019 Hillsborough Music Festival—will benefit My Son, Your Daughter, the Jonah Johnson Youth Scholarship Fund to provide funding in the form of direct grants to suicide prevention, arts education, and mental health resiliency training in our local schools. Additionally, the fund provides arts scholarships for university students. A portion of the festival proceeds will benefit BoroSafe, Hillsborough High School's suicide awareness organization that was formed to address suicide in our school community.