Our Founder’s Story
iheart was established as a registered charity in 2016 by Terry Rubenstein.
Here’s how it all started…
9 yrs 
Happy and carefree
Terry is a happy, seemingly well-adjusted young girl whose life is uncomplicated and full of promise. Had Terry undergone preventative mental wellbeing education at this age, she may have developed into an emotionally healthy adolescent equipped with the mental resilience to take on life’s challenges. However, this was not the case…
10 yrs
Insecure & self-doubting
Before long, insecurity and self-doubt start to creep in. Terry’s self-esteem begins to deteriorate, a problem many young people experience going into their teenage years.
15 yrs
Troubling teens
Life begins to feel very unpredictable, like an emotional rollercoaster. Sometimes, Terry feels socially confident and content; at other times, she struggles with feelings of insecurity, self-consciousness and fear of failure. Not knowing where to turn for help, she works hard to keep a grip on her growing anxiety, but develops a chronic eating disorder – a familiar story for many young people who, like Terry, feel unable to cope with adversity.
17 yrs
Moments of feeling hopeless & helpless
Whilst appearing on the outside to be somewhat ‘put together’, Terry’s dark inner thoughts lead to moments where she experiences intense feelings of pain and hopelessness. At times, her desperation leads her to self-harm as a ‘method’ of coping and finding relief.
29 yrs – Mother of 5 young children
Hits rock bottom
Terry’s twenties are a busy but fulfilling decade which includes getting married, immigrating twice and giving birth to five gorgeous boys, who she is crazy about. However, Terry’s struggles intensify as she faces a series of life challenges during this period. Not knowing how to access the reservoirs of inner resilience needed to deal with them, she reaches her lowest point and everything seems to come crashing down in a perfect storm. Yet, when its dark enough, we can see the stars…
30 yrs
Moment of insight and clarity!
After years of searching for answers, Terry deeply challenges her thinking and beliefs. She begins to experience moments of profound insight as she questions what she has always been taught about her personality and her ability to access unconditional resilience and peace of mind. As layers of self-doubt, fear and insecurity fall away, Terry realises that whilst her wellbeing may have been covered up, it cannot be damaged, lost or stolen. Her wellbeing is innate.
We have everything we need inside of us.
iheart is founded.
Terry knows that had she understood the nature of her innate mental health when she was young, it would have helped her immensely. From this conviction, iheart is born.
As a non-profit organisation with a mission to help young people uncover their innate resilience and mental wellbeing, Terry, the founding trustees and a small, dedicated team set about creating an educational programme to achieve just that.
Whilst having already touched the lives of more than 25,000 young people in 22 countries over the past five years, there is a still a huge amount to achieve. So in a sense, Terry’s story – the iheart story – is just beginning …
“We envision a healthy and thriving world where young people learn to uncover their innate wellbeing and potential to become resilient, contributing members of society.”
Terry Rubenstein, Founder of iheart
Our Founder’s
Story
iheart was established as a registered charity in 2016 by Terry Rubenstein.
Here’s how it all started…
9 yrs – Happy and carefree
Terry is a happy, seemingly well-adjusted young girl whose life is uncomplicated and full of promise. Had Terry undergone preventative mental wellbeing education at this age, she may have developed into an emotionally healthy adolescent equipped with the mental resilience to take on life’s challenges. However, this was not the case…
10 yrs – Insecure & self-doubting
Before long, insecurity and self-doubt start to creep in. Terry’s self-esteem begins to deteriorate, a problem many young people experience going into their teenage years.
15 yrs – Troubling teens
Life begins to feel very unpredictable, like an emotional rollercoaster. Sometimes, Terry feels socially confident and content; at other times, she struggles with feelings of insecurity, self-consciousness and fear of failure. Not knowing where to turn for help, she works hard to keep a grip on her growing anxiety, but develops a chronic eating disorder – a familiar story for many young people who, like Terry, feel unable to cope with adversity.
17 yrs – Moments of feeling hopeless & helpless
Whilst appearing on the outside to be somewhat ‘put together’, Terry’s dark inner thoughts lead to moments where she experiences intense feelings of pain and hopelessness. At times, her desperation leads her to self-harm as a ‘method’ of coping and finding relief.
29 yrs – Mother of 5 young children
Hits rock bottom
Terry’s twenties are a busy but fulfilling decade which includes getting married, immigrating twice and giving birth to five gorgeous boys, who she is crazy about. However, Terry’s struggles intesify as she faces a series of life challenges during this period. Not knowing how to access the reservoirs of inner resilience needed to deal with them, she reaches her lowest point and everything seems to come crashing down in a perfect storm. Yet, when its dark enough, we can see the stars…
30 yrs – Moment of insight and clarity!
After years of searching for answers, Terry deeply challenges her thinking and beliefs. She begins to experience moments of profound insight as she questions what she has always been taught about her personality and her ability to access unconditional resilience and peace of mind. As layers of self-doubt, fear and insecurity fall away, Terry realises that whilst her wellbeing may have been covered up, it cannot be damaged, lost or stolen. Her wellbeing is innate.
We have everything we need inside of us.
iheart is founded
Terry knows that had she understood the nature of her innate mental health when she was young, it would have helped her immensely. From this conviction, iheart is born.
As a non-profit organisation with a mission to help young people uncover their innate resilience and mental wellbeing, Terry, the founding trustees and a small, dedicated team set about creating an educational programme to achieve just that.
Whilst having already touched the lives of more than 15,000 young people in eighteen countries over the past five years, there is a still a huge amount to achieve. So in a sense, Terry’s story – the iheart story – is just beginning …
“We envision a healthy and thriving world where young people learn to uncover their innate wellbeing and potential to become resilient, contributing members of society.”
Terry Rubenstein, Founder of iheart