Grief Turned Into a Grassroots Mental Health Charity — The Campfire Fund Gears Up for July 11 Fundraiser
Four years after losing a friend to suicide, Ryan Goldberg’s backyard gathering has grown into an all-volunteer nonprofit that’s put dozens of people through therapy — and it’s about to throw its biggest event yet at Odd Colony.
The Campfire Fund of Florida didn’t start as a nonprofit. It started as a wake.
In November 2021, Ryan Goldberg lost a close friend — a singer, songwriter and guitar player who grew up in the Pensacola area — to suicide, just two weeks before his wedding. Instead of the bachelor party they’d planned, Goldberg and his friends gathered at his house to grieve and figure out what to do next.
What came out of that night was a small backyard music festival, then a foundation, then a full-fledged charity. “What do you guys think if we go to some local businesses and get some raffle items to try and raise some money and use that money to put people in therapy?” Goldberg recalled asking the three friends who helped him get it off the ground. Everyone agreed. They hit up local businesses for donations and raffle items and staged the first event in April 2022.
“We raised $7,000 on a Sunday with about three weeks’ notice… and the next day I started getting phone calls and emails from people that needed help.”
A month after that first event, Goldberg had the paperwork done — the LLC established, the website bought, the social media pages set up, and IRS approval secured. The Campfire Fund of Florida was officially a 501(c)(3).
From a Men’s Charity to a Community Mental Health Resource
The Campfire Fund started as a men’s mental health charity but quickly outgrew that label. Because insurance companies generally require a diagnosis before they’ll cover counseling, the fund began stepping in for people who fell through that gap, including minors struggling with the isolation of the COVID years, couples, and women who needed help.
Last year, the fund expanded across the state line, connecting a client in Foley, Alabama, with a licensed counselor willing to take on Campfire Fund clients.
- About 80 people have gone through therapy funded by the Campfire Fund over the last four to five years
- The organization is entirely volunteer-run
- Every dollar raised goes directly to therapy costs
- Services have expanded to include men, women, couples and minors, plus a new client relationship in Alabama
Goldberg said much of what the fund encounters locally traces back to addiction and a sense of directionless struggle among young men in their 20s and 30s.
- Many grew up in homes where a parent’s addiction became “the norm,” he said, and carried those patterns into their own adult relationships. Others are simply comparing their lives to an unrealistic standard.
“A lot of that might be due to social media and all these influencers that make everything look so amazing… when that’s just a show.”
Goldberg, who is in his early 50s and has worked steadily since graduating from the University of West Florida at 23, said he sees a lot of young men who feel like they haven’t measured up to some invisible bar, without a clear career path to work toward.
- “They’re kind of out there floundering,” he said.
Kicking Things Back Off on July 11
After a couple of quieter years, the Campfire Fund brought on new board members this year and is relaunching with its biggest event yet: a music-and-barbecue fundraiser on Saturday, July 11, at Odd Colony in downtown Pensacola.
The Campfire Fund Fundraiser
When: 2 p.m.- 10 p.m., Saturday, July 11
Where: Odd Colony, 260 N. Palafox St.
Music: Snake in the Rabbit, Nikki Forgione, The Victrolas
Food: Slow-smoked ribs, pork shoulder and sausage from the Campfire Fund crew, plus baked beans, potato salad and mac and cheese courtesy of Chef Alex at Iron
Raffle tickets: $5 each or five for $20
Raffle and auction items donated by local businesses include:
- An inshore fishing charter from a local charter captain
- A Cattleman Cleaver from Montana Knife Company’s culinary collection
- Signed bottles of Horse Soldier Bourbon, donated by Chef Alex at Iron
- Gift cards spanning haircuts, tattoos and dinners out
- Merchandise, swag bags and contributions from Water Boys, Doghouse Deli, Wilfrid’s and other local businesses
Goldberg said organizers are still deciding whether the bigger-ticket items — like the fishing charter and the cleaver — will go up for raffle or silent auction, but either way, the goal is the same one that’s driven the fund since that first backyard gathering: raise money, get more people into therapy, and do it without taking a cut for themselves.
More information on the Campfire Fund of Florida is available at thecampfirefund.org.
