Face It Foundation

Face It Foundation: Hope. Healing. Community.

As Face It enters its 17th year, our mission remains as vital as ever: walking beside men who are struggling with depression and life’s hardest challenges.

What began as a single support group has grown into 24 ongoing groups—including a new one launched this year in Duluth— and we are serving more than 250 men who meet regularly to talk openly, connect, and heal together.

Beyond our groups, Face It provides one-on-one support to men navigating some of life’s toughest moments — often walking beside them through crisis, loss, or recovery. Our community shows up for one another in real time, offering connection and care when it’s needed most.

We also offer classes on topics such as meditation, journaling, and improv, along with activities including monthly breakfasts, volunteer projects, baseball games, walks, and pickleball — all designed to build confidence, community, and joy.

Through our podcast, “What’s the Point,” now nearing 50 episodes, we share honest, down-to-earth conversations about men’s mental health. And beyond our own programs, we’re proud to speak with groups and organizations across Minnesota and beyond, spreading awareness and challenging stigma around men’s depression and suicide.

This year, our work was recognized nationally with an article accepted for publication in the American Journal of Health Promotion — a powerful validation of Face It’s peer-based approach and an opportunity to bring our message of hope and connection to mental health and medical professionals across the country.

Through it all, our focus has stayed the same: helping men in every phase of recovery find hope, connection, and purpose.

The Next Chapter of Healing: Face It Northwoods
In 2023, we took that mission to a deeper level by acquiring Face It Northwoods—a retreat property where men can step away from the noise of life and rediscover themselves.

At that time, we could host just one retreat per year, serving 20 men. Fast forward to today: since January 2024, Face It Northwoods has hosted more than 20 retreats, giving hundreds of men the chance to experience the honesty, community, and hope that define Face It.

Moments That Change Lives
This year, we hosted one of the most meaningful retreats in our history,
aMemorial Created by the Fathers weekend for eight fathers who had each lost a son to suicide.

These men didn’t know one another. None had ever sat in a space devoted to speaking about their loss. Over one powerful weekend, they shared their pain, found understanding, and left knowing they were not alone. Together, they built a memorial to honor their sons and to share messages of hope with others who visit Northwoods.

That is the essence of Northwoods—a place where men’s lives are changed, and sometimes saved.

Built and Sustained by the Men We Serve
Beyond the retreats themselves, Northwoods has become a place that our men take pride in maintaining. This year, during both our spring and fall clean-up days, more than 30 men from our groups came together to clear trails, cut wood, rebuild decks, dig the firepit, and paint.   

Their hands and hearts are all over this place—and that sense of ownership has made Northwoods even more meaningful for everyone who visits.

Keeping Northwoods Strong
We never charge for our retreats. Every man who attends comes as our guest, supported entirely by the generosity of donors like you.

This Give to the Max Day, every dollar raised will go exclusively toward maintaining and improving Face It Northwoods—beginning with a much-needed siding replacement to protect and preserve the facility for years to come.

And this year, your impact can go even further:

An anonymous donor has pledged to match the first $2,500 in gifts. That means your contribution will be doubled—helping us sustain Northwoods as a place of refuge and renewal.

Join Us
Your support keeps Northwoods alive and ready to welcome every man who needs it—free of charge, surrounded by care, connection, and compassion.

Together, we can sustain this remarkable place of healing and hope!

With deep gratitude and love,
Mark and Bill
Co-Founders, Face It Foundation

P.S. - Take a moment to watch this short video, we share what makes Northwoods such a powerful part of Face It's Mission...