In Manny’s memory, we have set a goal to raise $25,000 to support the foundation’s mission: to bring light to those facing the silent battles of mental health. Manny’s Band is dedicated to breaking the stigma, fostering open conversation, and providing resources for those who are struggling — because no one should have to face the darkness alone.

Alpha Epsilon Pi at the University of Colorado Boulder believes in the power of community, remembrance, and action.

In honor of our late brother Manny, we are launching a $25,000 fundraising campaign to support Manny’s Band — a foundation dedicated to mental health awareness, suicide prevention, and destigmatizing mental illness.

Mental health is a silent crisis affecting students across campuses nationwide. As brothers, friends, and advocates, we carry the responsibility to support one another and ensure that no one feels alone in their struggle.

Manny’s Band represents more than a tribute — it’s a movement to transform grief into purpose and to create lasting impact for those battling the darkness of mental illness.

As the Jewish fraternity committed to repairing the world (tikkun olam), AEPi stands for compassion, leadership, and resilience. By supporting Manny’s Band, we turn loss into leadership and heartbreak into healing.

Your contribution helps fund programming, outreach, and resources that empower students, educate peers, and save lives.

This campaign isn’t just about raising money — it’s about raising awareness, raising hope, and raising each other up.Together, we can create a culture where vulnerability is met with support, not stigma.

About the AEPi Campaign

A Message from the Father, Ben Pargman

If you’re in Atlanta:
Join us for a powerful night of music, community, and remembrance.

Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Buckhead Theatre | Atlanta, GA
Presented by Manny’s Band Foundation, Inc.

The Manny’s Band Concert

A Message from Ari Brodsky

President, Alpha Epsilon Pi – University of Colorado Boulder

To all the distinguished families, alumni, and brothers of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity at CU Boulder,

There is a silent crisis happening on college campuses and in communities across the country. It is a crisis that statistics can’t fully capture, and one that far too many people don’t recognize until it’s too late.

This crisis is something that rocked our chapter to its core on December 4th, 2024, when we lost our brother, Manny Pargman, to suicide. It was the worst news imaginable, and for me, and many of us, it was the first time we had to confront the reality of anyone in our community, no less a brother of ours, had died by suicide.

The first feelings that crossed my mind were disbelief and shock, that eventually settled into sadness and anger. How could we have let this happen? What could I have done to help prevent this tragedy that now scarred my brotherhood? All over campus, throughout Atlanta, and all over the world, anyone who had ever interacted with Manny was thinking the same thing: How can we be better, so that something like this will never happen again?

This question is what motivates our chapter to support the Manny’s Band Foundation. Founded by Manny’s family and friends, this foundation builds on our brother’s legacy by attacking the root of the tragic disease that led Manny down the path of darkness. We are here to bring advocacy, and honor our brother’s legacy by working to change the very narrative that caused Manny to die by suicide. This is not a distant issue for us, this is deeply personal.

Everyone has seen the awareness campaigns. We have all been told to “check on your friends”. But awareness is not enough when the message is not breaking through. The hardest truth to face is that the traditional prevention methods fail to connect with young people in the fast-paced, nonstop, and difficult world that they actually live in. They fail to turn the abstract concept of “mental health awareness” into a real conversation that young men and women are willing to have. Especially on college campuses, mental health is too often shoved to the background, ignored, and treated as a stigma – especially among young men. A genuine platform to speak openly and honestly is rarely provided, which allows this sickness to grow in the shadows and lets good people think, '“this is not my problem.”

Manny’s Band was created to shatter that paradigm - and it is on a mission to do something radically different. Instead of top-down lectures from adults, Manny’s Band is empowering teens and young adults to spread the message themselves through the power of community, music, and creative expression. We are creating a culture where the risk of suicide is not, and can never be “not my problem.”

By supporting our fundraiser and Manny’s Band, you are doing more than donating to a cause. You are investing in a new, vital approach to suicide prevention. You are helping fund content, and lessons created by young people, for young people, ensuring that no more families, brotherhoods, communities, must experience this kind of loss.

This fundraiser, and our partnership with Manny’s Band is our promise and commitment to him - and to every member of our community - that his memory will be honored with action. Together we can help Manny's Band save lives, building a world where no one has to suffer in silence.

Thank you for your support.

A Message from Josh Kesner

Vice President of AEPi at University of Colorado Boulder

Mental health is a concept that gets shied away so often, being put down to the very core of our busy lives where we forget to check ourselves and focus on what is most important: your own personal well-being. Whether you see it or not, everyone has their struggles and adversity they are going through. We always try to hide and put on a facade for others to view, but at times these “portrayals” of who you are make you rethink your identity. I always look toward my brothers and count on them, as they would count on me. This past year, our brotherhood faced a loss that shook us to our core. On December 4th, 2024, we lost our beloved brother, Manny Pargman, to suicide. Manny was more than just a member of our fraternity, he was a friend, a musician, and a light in our lives. Being welcomed in our chapter that very same year. His contagious energy, laughter, and music that lights up every room has made our community stronger, and his absence in our lives is felt every single day.

The Chi-Upsilon Chapter of Alpha Epsilon Pi has dedicated itself to honoring Manny’s life and legacy by supporting Manny’s Band Foundation, Inc. Founded by Manny’s family, this Atlanta-based nonprofit is working to create a paradigm shift in suicide prevention. Their mission is bold but necessary, in route to dramatically reduce teen suicides by using the power of music, the arts, and creative content to reach young people where they are. Through the media they consume, in the music they listen to, and in the voices of their peers.

I stand by the idea that our brother Manny was stripped away from his most promising college and life experiences by the struggles of young adulthood, and disease of suicide.

Manny’s Band exists because Manny was more than his struggle. He was a talented DJ, a lover of music, and a creator whose art continues to inspire us. His father, Ben Pargman, created a space where through this foundation, Manny’s passion lives on, turning grief into action and silence into conversation.

Mental health is not always easy to talk about, especially for young people like us. Too often, the warning signs are missed, or the conversations are avoided. Manny’s Band is working to change that by helping parents, families, and friends find new ways to speak openly about suicide and the risks that too many teens and young adults quietly face alone.

At the University of Colorado - Boulder, I never expected looking out for our own and other’s mental health had become such a significant component to my college experience. This philanthropy is personal. It’s not just about raising money, it’s about remembering our brother and building a future where fewer families have to experience this kind of loss. How we step up for one another, we need to change the narrative that our mental health is meant to be kept under closed doors. Our chapter is committed to ensuring Manny’s story, his music, and his spirit continue to make an impact.

We honor Manny not as a victim of suicide, but as the creative engine, brother, and source of inspiration he was. And through Manny’s Band, we choose to turn our pain into purpose.

I am forever thankful for our brother, friend, and rising leader who joined our chapter. Manny Pargman.

Join the Movement

Every dollar raised brings us closer to creating change — on our campus, in our communities, and across the nation.

Support our goal of raising $25,000 for Manny’s Band and help us ensure that no one has to face the darkness alone.