The following article was originally printed in the January 2023 Issue of Slush. To access the full article click here.
Intro and Interview by Blake Paul
Born from a first hand account of a traumatic brain injury, a lack of resources and support, and the drive to make a positive shift in head trauma recovery; Kelsey Boyer stepped up to her calling and created the non profit: Save A Brain. Alongside close friends Micah Anderson, Melissa Riitano, and Morgan Scibetta, Boyer says her biggest contribution so far is creating the conversation and safe space for individuals to feel heard & understood. Save a Brain raises funds for those in recovery, donates helmets, provides helmet checks, spreads mental and nutritional awareness and education, connects individuals to treatment centers, partners with brands, events, and schools, and overall has become a pillar in the community for all things head injury related. Out of a love for snowboarding, friendship, and following her passion to help those in need, Boyer has proven to make a difference in the industry, saving brains along the way one step at a time.
How did you start snowboarding?
I grew up in the sticks of Pennsylvania, straight Amish country, and there wasn't much to do. Luckily, I lived 10 minutes down the street from a tiny resort called Bear Creek. Classic scenario, my older sister started and I wanted to follow in her footsteps. The more I went, the more I fell in love and my family did whatever it took to take me to and from the mountain every day. It's funny looking back because I never knew it would become my entire life.
What was the decision or driving force behind starting Save a Brain?
Save A Brain was born from everything that I felt like I didn't have during my own traumatic brain injury recovery. After my brain surgery, I was just released into the world with no guidance, education or support. Not only that but I fully realized that my friends saved my life by knowing the red flags of a concussion. I was told I wouldn't have survived through the night so I am forever grateful that they knew what to look out for. I never thought about the importance in educating yourself about this injury but it truly could mean life or death. As time went on with my recovery, my life was flipped upside down and I could no longer function from day to day. I started being more open about my struggles via social media and realized there was a huge lack of education. This is where the instagram account, Save A Brain, came from as just an educational resource to learn and understand the brain together because it is so complex and we know nothing about it. The more I opened up the space, the more people were reaching out that also were silently suffering. Every single person imprinted on me and I felt like we had to do something to help and change the stigma of this invisible injury. Head injuries are the most common injury in the world and everyone knows someone who suffers. The instagram account was the seed that was planted and now it has grown into a nonprofit. The heart of this was all rooted in wanting to help people and make sure that no one was alone. Melissa Riitano, Micah Anderson and Morgan Scibetta were by my side through my injury and understood how much of a toll it takes on an individual and family. We all decided to come together to shake shit up within the world, have the hard conversations and try to save as many brains as possible.
Can you give a brief rundown of the work/contributions you have done to help your community and the goals behind the organization?
The name says it all for us, our goal is to save a brain and that can be done in many ways whether that be support, resources or the financial means to help someone receive treatment. Community is our biggest teacher which has led us to our programs so far. Happy Helmets, we donate brand new helmets every month to local non-profits, youth programs and schools since a good quality helmet costs a lot of money. We created a concussion guide that is for 8 year olds and up to understand, so little Johnny can learn or give a guide to his parents to what he is going through or red fags to search for. We have implemented helmet checks at contests like Dew Tour to ensure that athletes are wearing effective helmets. Brain health, mental health and nutrition are important to us which led us to launching a Concussion Cookbook with Chelsie Moore so individuals can have a guide to follow post concussion. We have a lot of forms of programming to educate about this invisible injury but I think the biggest contribution so far has been creating the conversation and safe space for individuals to feel heard & understood. Our goals, work and contributions will continue to grow and we have some amazing forms of programming that we will be launching this year.
What are some standout rewarding feelings or favorite moments you’ve had in the process of running a Non-Profit?
KB- I could write a book on my favorite moments that have touched my heart but truly every moment that we exist is my favorite moment. Every message, hug, and donation makes me cry because Save A Brain is becoming bigger than ourselves.
Melissa: The first moment that stuck out to me is when we first started attending in person events. We had a guy come up to our tent to tell us about his struggle with a TBI, and how much it helps him to see content he can relate to online. Overall it's been mind blowing and humbling to see how many people this affects and how much we have started to help already.
Micah: A standout rewarding feeling that I’ve experienced during the process of growing Save A Brain would have to be hearing/ seeing people be impacted by our efforts. There was one in particular at “Right Brain” in Denver that burst out in tears during the live panel because she had sustained a TBI, resonated with everything being said and finally felt like she wasn’t alone. She later that night made it a point to thank us, still teary eyed, shared her experience and gave us all hugs. Seeing that impact is unreal and being able to enable people to feel safe to share their own experiences with others is huge. We need to share experiences to learn, grow and realize we’re not alone.
Morgan: My favorite moments have been connecting with people of all ages at events and listening to their unique stories about hardships, struggles, healing journeys & caretaking related to brain injuries. The work I do for the nonprofit is usually behind a computer but to step out and get to see the support of a community coming together and people feeling like they have an outlet to talk about their experience is truly a special moment.
Where would you like to see the future of Save a Brain go?
This question always gets me thinking because the future is unknown and the void we are trying to fill is massive. What keeps us moving forward is trying to save one brain at a time because if we can do that, over time, we can save a lot of brains. Collectively, our end goal is to open up a treatment facility where we raise money to send individuals post head injury. Getting to that end goal is where the pivoting happens which is the exciting part. I like to think of Save A Brain as a seed that we planted in the garden. As long as we give it sunlight, water and love... we will continue to grow into something beautiful. We are constantly taking a look around and re-evaluating what has worked, where we are needed and how we can make a greater impact. The future is unknown but what I do know is that we have a lot of love to give and we are going to become one beautiful flower.
Any advice or tips for those looking to start their own organization/non-profit or are working to give back to their communities?
It is easy to look at the world and feel helpless, lost or frustrated.
Every single day has an obstacle to overcome but as long as you lead with your heart, you will always find a way around it. I have zero qualifications or experience when it comes to business let alone running a non-profit which held me back for so long. At the end of the day, life is truly so short. Take the leap of faith and know that your why will help you flow down the stream and stay afloat. Find something you are passionate about, figure out how you can help and never turn your back on that. This community is so special because there are so many amazing projects, organizations and brands involved that elevate a lot of causes. Ask questions, listen, learn and be resilient because giving back is one of the most fulfilling experiences out there. Something that I constantly ground myself with, "If you protect your purpose, your purpose will protect you."
Shout-out or Thank You’s to those that have helped along the way or anything you’d like to add that we missed?
I cannot even type out the amount of thank yous because the list is too long so please forgive me if I miss anyone. It truly takes a village to make a difference and this community has us speechless every single day. Thank you to my family for always being by my side. Save A Brain would not be where it is without the work of Melissa, Micah and Morgan, I can confidently say that. Thank you all for trusting in the universe, pouring your soul into this and for being my biggest support pillars in life.. you all inspire me so much. Thank you to all of our Board of Directors and Advisory Board of medical professionals. All of the donations, messages, volunteers, laughs and cries from all individuals and brands.. we wouldn't be here without any of you. Thank you for believing in us, thank you for trusting us and thank you for showing us that anything is possible. The support from everyone is truly what keeps us going, we wouldn't have made it this far without it. Whoever is reading this, THANK YOU! Lastly, thank you Slush for this opportunity, we are honored.
Sign up HERE for the Save a Brain Golf Tournament, September 9th at the Mountain Dell Canyon Course