Our Mission
Where Compassion Sits
and Courage Stands
The Sheridan Gorman Foundation was created in memory of Sheridan Grace Gorman — beloved daughter, sister, friend, teammate, student, and young woman whose extraordinary heart made people feel seen.
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Long before there was a foundation bearing her name, there was a little girl who noticed the child sitting alone. When Sheridan was in kindergarten, her teacher told us something we would never forget:Â "Your Sheridan stalks the Buddy Bench."
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The Buddy Bench was where children could sit when they needed a friend. Sheridan watched it. She noticed who was alone. And when someone sat there, she went to them.
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That simple story captured something essential about who Sheridan was throughout her life. She noticed people. She included people. She showed up. She loved fiercely.
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She was certainly not a perfect person — she was a teenager, after all — but she had a nearly perfect heart. And that heart is the heart of this Foundation.
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On March 19, 2026, Sheridan was taken from this world at just eighteen years old.
We cannot change what happened to her. But we can decide what happens because she lived.
The mission of The Sheridan Gorman Foundation is to turn love, grief, compassion, and courage into meaningful action — to create a world with more people willing to notice, more people willing to care, and more people willing to stand up when something is wrong.
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We will carry Sheridan's heart forward through acts of compassion, opportunities for young people, advocacy for safer communities, and support for families whose lives have been forever changed by preventable tragedy.