Built from love, in his memory.

Our Story

For Mark. For every family after.

Mark was the kind of person who made the room warmer. He had a laugh you could hear from across the house, a habit of remembering the small things, and a heart that pulled people in without effort. He was a son, a brother, a friend. He was loved, not in past tense, in present, in always.

And then, one day, he was gone.

The silence that followed his death is hard to describe to anyone who hasn't lived through it. Casseroles arrived for a week. Then the calls stopped. The world went back to its rhythm, and we were left in a quiet that didn't lift. The grief of suicide loss is its own particular weight: it carries shame, questions without answers, and a loneliness that even the most loving community can't always reach.

“Grief doesn't end. It becomes the place we build from.”

— Ryann Hart Stefanye, Founder

In the months that followed, we started reaching out to other families who had lost someone the way we lost Mark. We expected to console. Instead, we found ourselves consoled. We found stories that mirrored ours. We found people who, when they said "I understand," actually did.

That's where Make Your Mark Foundation was born, not in a strategic planning session, but in a kitchen, on the phone, with another mother on the other end of the line. We realized that what we needed didn't exist for everyone who needed it. So we built it.

Today, Make Your Mark Foundation walks alongside families across the country. We send care packages. We make phone calls. We host events where people can laugh, cry, and just be. Without explaining themselves. Everything we do is free for the families we serve, because no one should have to choose between paying rent and finding support.

Mark made his mark on us. This foundation is how we make our mark on the world, in his honor, and in honor of every life we hold in our hearts.