IMPACT REPORT

Expansive vision and bold, practical goals are hallmarks of the David Lynch Foundation’s mission. Never content to rest with “what is,” we will go even bigger in 2021. As our nation and people worldwide face unprecedented levels of stress and anxiety in the face of a global pandemic and seismic societal shifts, Transcendental Meditation has the potential to dramatically transform individual wellness and societal resilience.

Through trusted partnerships with long-standing community organizations; city, state, and federal government; corporations; academia; and the philanthropic sector; DLF continues to build an evidence-based case for the widespread availability of Transcendental Meditation. In particular, we are working with public and private health insurance providers to make this healing modality available to vulnerable populations nationwide.

This report outlines the key initiatives that are bringing the extraordinary benefits of the Transcendental Meditation® technique to populations in need:

• Heal the Healers

• 21 to None

• Healthy Families Healthy Communities

• Washington, DC programs

• Los Angeles programs• Meditate America

1

Heal the Healers – COVID 19 Healthcare Workers

In the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the David Lynch Foundation recognized that healthcare workers were beginning to deal with crushing levels of stress and anxiety and making rapid, life-or-death decisions, all while putting their own health at risk. We quickly mobilized to respond to the needs of our healthcare workers. On April 6, 2020, DLF’s Chief Executive Officer, Bob Roth, announced the launch of Heal the Healers Now (HTHN) live on national television during ABC’s Good Morning America. We are thrilled with the impact of our work over the past year, and yet we know that

the pandemic is far from over and our healthcare workers will have a long and arduous road ahead of them.

The response from healthcare workers, hospitals, research centers, and donors has been extraordinary. Clinicians and researchers recognize the value of TM as a tool to help healthcare staff maintain equanimity and resilience during what is, for many, the most challenging period in their personal and professional lives. Through Heal the Healers, more and more healthcare workers are gaining access to this powerful, non-pharmaceutical tool. TM instruction is underway in an increasing range of healthcare settings nationwide and hospitals, policy makers and those concerned with the well-being of our nation’s healthcare industry and its medical (and other) providers will have additional evidence of TM’s effectiveness, which will help to secure and allocate funding for further TM instruction.

To date, the Heal the Healers initiative includes:

• Independent research focused on TM and healthcare provider burnout, resilience, andwellness at 10 major research and teaching centers

• TM Instruction at 20 hospitals and medical centers around the country

DLF is also a respected service provider in the Los Angeles substance abuse recovery community, with professionals in this area referring their clients to learn TM.

2

Tragically, an estimated 21 veterans take their own lives every day. During the pandemic – with its resulting economic impact, increased social isolation, and other negative influences – veterans’ suicide is up another 20-30%, compelling military leaders to again look for proven strategies and interventions to help. DLF’s “21 to None” national initiative builds upon the organization’s 15+ years of working with veterans and active duty soldiers and aims to reduce the number of daily veteran suicides from 21 to zero. The goal of 21 to None is to provide every veteran, and his or her family, a no-cost opportunity to learn TM.

21 to None – Veterans

“I stood on the window ledge and shut my eyes and said a prayer and was about to jump. I know what got me in that window ledge, but I also know what got me out of that window ledge and why I’m here now. I believe in my heart that Transcendental Meditation is a humongous portion of the reason I am sitting here now.” – Leshonda Gill, Iraq War veteran

DLF has been teaching meditation to veterans and their families for more than ten years through its Operation Warrior Wellness program. Building upon this experience, as well as relationships that DLF has developed with the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration, DLF is launching its newest campaign, 21 to None, with two primary action steps:

Action Step One: Veterans Lifeline. In this three-year, national initiative 10,000 veterans will learn TM through funding provided by philanthropists, foundations, and corporations.

Action Step Two: A National Study to Help Secure Federal Funding. The largest study ever conducted onmeditation and veterans with PTSD is under way. This landmark, $8 million, Phase III Clinical Trial is being done in close partnership with the highest levels of leadership at the US Department of Veterans Affairs.The research team has designed a two-armed randomized controlled trial taking place at nine sites. Thisstudy will compare TM to Present Centered Therapy (PCT) in the treatment of veterans with PTSD. InJanuary 2020, JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) published an article on current VAtreatments and recommended that TM be among the first-line treatments included in VA/Department ofDefense guidelines. The study will also include data on suicidal ideation, substance use, and sleep. Thestudy is being conducted by the top tier of VA researchers in the country.

DLF’s Capitol Hill office has established essential partnerships with the Department of Defense, Veterans Administration, and other military offices and leaders. (Please see the Washington section of this reportfor details.)

• The Journal of Traumatic Stress has accepted the DLF-funded Northwell PTSD studyThe Effects of Transcendental Meditation as an Adjunctive Treatment for PTSD

• 40 veterans with PTSD were randomly assigned to either learn TM or receive treatment asusual at the Northwell Behavioral Health Center for Military Veterans

• There were large and significant reductions in both PTSD and depression symptoms in the TMgroup compared to controls three months after learning TM

• An extensive follow-up program is scheduled for all subjects

3

Healthy Families Healthy Communities and Survivors of Domestic Abuse

In Fall 2016, DLF created an entirely new program model by establishing The Meditation Center at THEARC (Town Hall Education Recreation Arts Campus). The Meditation Center has taught TM to more than 800 people throughout the greater Washington area, and in particular, Wards 7 and 8. These DC Wards (neighborhoods) are deeply impacted by urban blight, economic hardship, violent crime, and inequities in healthcare and other vital services. Wards 7 and 8 also are reeling from the disproportionate effects of COVID-19. For

example, when compared to DC’s seven other Wards, Ward 8 ranks #2 in COVID-19 cases while experiencing 70% of DC’s COVID-19 deaths.

A Ward 8 community organizer who learned TM at The Meditation Center remarked: “People are tired, people are stressed, people are angry, they have trauma…. and it's showing up in the community, which is why we have so much violence. If we can get the community to buy into TM, it would make it a better place to live, a better place to work, a better place to play, and I know that TM can solve the issue of violence.”

In addition, for the past five years, the David Lynch Foundation has partnered with city agencies and service providers to help more than 1,000 women living in domestic violence shelters in New York City and Los Angeles learn TM.

In Los Angeles,TM has been taught to women and girls from Friendly House and New Village GirlsAcademy. We are raising funds in Los Angeles to continue these partnerships with local organizations and to investigate and establish new partnerships. Based on our successful track records in NYC and LA, we have launched a new partnership in Washington, DC with House of Ruth.

Washington, DC Programs

Community Programs Howard University Hospital: In this three-pronged partnership, we are teaching TM: (1) as part of the hospital’s Violence Intervention Project, a program with the DC’s Office of Victims Services and Justice Grants, where our instructors will teach TM to 20 gunshot violence patients, (2) to Howard's Emergency Room/Trauma staff, and (3) to 30 nurses as part of our Heal the Healers national initiative.

Children’s National Health System (CNHS): DLF is a longtime partner with CNHS, stemming from the support of its CEO, Dr. Kurt Newman. The Meditation Center is teaching 40 youth in the hospital’s outreach programs.

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House of Ruth: Our partnership with House of Ruth, one of DC’s most respected service providers, will enable women who have survived domestic violence to learn TM. Please see the Survivors of Domestic Abuse section, above, for a description of this partnership.

Capitol Hill Office

DLF has established an office on Capitol Hill, with the goal of securing long-term, institutional and government funding for TM instruction. DLF’s vision is that TM become a widely-accepted treatment modality for stress-related illnesses that is reimbursable through government and military agencies as well as private health insurance.

To support our work with active-duty soldiers and veterans, we have established relationships with the Department of Defense, National Defense University, the Veterans Administration, the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, and more. We have taught TM to more than 100 military leaders and have cultivated connections with military advisors. Inaddition, Susan Molinari (R-NY) and Steve Israel (D-NY), two highly respected retired members of Congress, sit on DLF’s Board of Directors, and their advice and guidance have been pivotal.

In addition, DLF maintains an active presence on Capitol Hill, with more and more Members of Congressand Congressional Staff learning TM. This improves the health and effectiveness of leaders in our nation’s capital and helps Capitol Hill legislators and staff understand the benefits of TM and possiblysupport legislative action and budget appropriations to make it more widely available.

5

DLF launched programs in Los Angeles eleven years ago and has established itself as a trusted partner to local organizations and city/county agencies, including some of those that serve LA’s most vulnerable residents.

Currently, the LA office of DLF is working closely with Student Health and Human Services, on plans to bring TM instruction to more families in the city. Through DLF’s Healthy Families/Healthy Communities program (which focuses on bringing TM to underserved families

in Los Angeles County), DLF/LA will deliver this instruction via community-based organizations and wellness centers across the County. Plans are also in development for a study with UCLA evaluating the efficacy of TM in reducing educators' burnout and improving their ability to feel more successful and fulfilled in their jobs.

As reported above, the University of Southern California is one of the sites for the US Department of Veteran Affairs Phase 3 Clinical Trial. In addition to collaborating with the USC research team, our LA Director has taught TM to the Deputy Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. DLF/LA is also working with the Veterans in Media and Entertainment organization to offer locally funded scholarships to their members who would like to learn TM.

As part of Heal the Healers Now, our LA office has teamed up with UCLA Health to teach their front- line nurses and has taught TM to 38 healthcare workers and first responders.

Los Angeles Programs

An LA physician that learned TM as part of the Heal the Healers Now program remarked: “I had always wanted to learn TM as I was aware of the robust research on the practice, I put the prospect of learning TM on the back burner. Luckily, I was made aware of the David Lynch Foundation healthcare worker scholarship and had a free week off, so I was able to learn Transcendental Meditation this past summer, and it has truly changed my life.

After learning the technique of TM, I began to crave meditation. Because of the ease of the practice and the free-flowing nature of the instruction, my TM time has become something I look forward to every day rather than a chore. My short attention span made other meditations feel like quite an effort, while TM feels effortless to me."

DLF/LA is a respected service provider in the Los Angeles substance abuse recovery community. Professionals in this area refer their clients to learn TM through scholarships that are funded by local donations.

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Meditate America – Making TM Available to All Americans

Expansive vision and bold, practical goals are hallmarks of the David Lynch Foundation’s mission. Never content to rest, we turn our focus to bringing the transformative TM practice to more Americans than ever before.

Meditate America, DLF’s newest initiative, has the goal of bringing TM to over 1,000,000 people in America. This movement was launched on December 3, 2020, with an all-star, virtual Benefit Celebration and Concert to raise funds and awareness. The high-profile event was hosted by award-

winning actors Hugh Jackman and Deborra-lee Furness, Good Morning America co-anchors Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos, and ABC’s Medical Correspondent Jennifer Ashton, MD. Musical performances by luminaries such as Sting, Graham Nash, Elvis Costello, Kesha, Jim James, and Angelique Kidjo attracted a large and diverse audience. Funds from the benefit concert are being used to teach TM to healthcare workers, veterans, vulnerable youth, families in crisis, and others who are reeling from the direct and indirect impacts of the global pandemic and all the stress, uncertainty and fragility that has come with it.

As Meditate America grows, it will bring TM instruction to new populations and support our aforementioned efforts to make TM a widely accepted treatment modality for a range of health and mental health issues. Our work with public and private health insurers, lawmakers on Capitol Hill, and other key government agencies and decision makers will help achieve our ultimate goal of making TM instruction free and readily available to anyone who seeks it through their health insurance.