After Sean Vernon Feliciano, a 20 yr. old University of California Santa Barbara student ended his life in March of 2009, his surviving family and friends founded the Sean Vernon Feliciano Amazing Day Foundation.

According to statistics, the number two killer of college age students is suicide. Due to the higher rates of suicide among college students, they require a higher degree of attention then the general public. The Amazing Day Foundation aims to enlist the help of volunteers and educational institutions to help students effectively deal with depression, encouraging them to choose life when it may seem like death is the only option. We hope to help educate students, parents, faculty, and administrators of the threat that suicide presents to students,” said Sean's dad Robert Feliciano, one of the founders of the Amazing Day Foundation      

Sean Feliciano was a Junior at UCSB when he took his life and everyone who knew him never thought he was the type of person capable of committing suicide. Despite recently battling depression and being prescribed anti-depressants, the sudden end to Sean's life was a shock. “If I had known what I know now, I could have done more to help save my son,” said Robert Feliciano. The reason the name for the foundation was chosen was because of a message that Sean  recorded for his voicemail which greeted callers in an upbeat and cheery manor, encouraging callers to “have an amazing day.”        

It is the foundations hope that they will be fully functional by the beginning of 2010. The foundation can be reached by phone (562) 869-0660, or on the web

http://www.amazingdayfoundation.org. Next summer the foundation plans to host its first fundraiser, a 5k in the City of Downey in memory of Sean.