At first glance, teen actress Shauna Case appears to be living the carefree, American dream. With a recently wrapped television show and a musical career on the rise, it would be easy for this young woman to get swept away by the usual Hollywood hype – but there’s much more to this 15-year-old than meets the eye. Instead of spending her time attending A-list parties and walking the red-carpet, she’s recently taken on the serious role of becoming a celebrity ambassador for SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education). Shauna knows only too well how this issue can negatively impact a family, with her own mother battling depression for many years. “You know, you love your mom so much, you want to see her happy and smile – it just really struck my heart to help this organization to inspire kids and show them that they can be strong and deal with this illness,” she said.
SAVE is the leading suicide prevention agency in the nation working to prevent suicide through public awareness and education. As the second leading cause of death among 15 – 34 year olds, Shauna is poised to appeal to powerful demographic. SAVE’s Executive Director, Dr. Dan Reidenberg is pleased to have her join their work, “She brings passion and a great voice to help others who are struggling to know there is help and there is hope.” Shauna will appear in a video presentation for schools and record a series of Public Service Announcements to be released as part of a national radio campaign.
Since moving to Los Angeles to pursue her career at the age of 12, Shauna’s star has been steadily rising, earning her accolades and a growing fan base. She just wrapped on Cartoon Network’s live-action sketch comedy show Incredible Crew, “I grew up doing public pranks like we did on the show, just goofing around with my friends in Wal Mart or the Mall, so it was super fun – and I got work with Nick Cannon which was such an honor because I always watched him on America’s Got Talent with my family and he’s such a comedic icon,” she said. And, as if that wasn’t enough, her musical career is starting to take off as well. Shauna worked with Grammy-nominated and Billboard Award-winning producer Eddie Galan on her debut EP. The first single, and video, is an autobiographic pop-country track called Some Kind of Fairytale. The song describes her journey of moving from Pennsylvania to California to chase her dreams – and the first reactions to it have been promising. “Social media has really helped me spread the kind of messages I want to,” she said. “People have tweeted or messaged me saying that ‘what you just posted the other day really inspired me to stay strong’ or “what you posted helped me to have the courage to chase my dreams.’
When asked how she finds the unlimited energy and drive to work toward making the world a better place, she responds, “If we all just say ‘I’ll just let somebody else do that,’ then nothing’s going to get done. Just get involved and know that giving back is going to make you happier as well – so it affects both parties,” she said. “It’s just awesome to see the world be a happy place.”
So who makes a positive impact on her life? “I could say it a thousand times – my parents,” she says. “I can’t drive yet so my parents take me all my auditions, my dance classes, my acting classes, the recording studio – I definitely couldn’t have done it without them.”
While Shauna and her family have had to deal with their own struggles, she says it feels good to turn those hard moments into a positive, “I love that I can show others through my real experience that it does get better and you have power over this illness, you can get through it.
To learn more about SAVE, visit http://www.save.org or call 952-946-7998.
Marci Wise is a motivational author and Mental Health Counselor in the Ft. Myers/Naples Florida area. For more information visit marciwise.com.
Author Marci Wise 