Texas Walk for PTSD Awareness Raises $5,400 for Veterans
HIKE for Mental Health presents $3,000 check to Ron Risdon and Pearland VFW Post 7109.
HIKE for Mental Health is proud to award more than $5,400 to Texas veterans groups from its 2014 Veterans Day Walk for PTSD Awareness in Pearland, TX.
We presented more than $2,400 in workbooks and treatment materials to the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso for service men and women suffering PTSD and other behavioral challenges.
We also awarded $3,000 to Pearland VFW Post 7109, a co-sponsor of the walk, to support its effort to increase services to local veterans and to become a more integral part of the Pearland community.
Abundant Thanks
VA nurse Rosa Klocksiem sent us a note upon receiving word of the gift just before Thanksgiving:
Staff at the VA Medical Center receive supplies from HIKE for Mental Health
Abundant thanks to you and your volunteers! Tomorrow I have the privilege of spending Thanksgiving with our soldier/patients. If all are stable we will be enjoying a nice lunch in the hospital mess hall. Whatever the day brings it will be a special one and they shall receive notice of the wonderful works that are being done, on their behalf, in their honor by you and yours.
May you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! Know that your charitable actions will assist in serving our warriors in their time of crisis.
With Utmost Respect, Admiration, and Gratitude,
Rosa
2014 marks the third year HIKE for Mental Health contributed to Rosa’s program with its Veterans Day activities.
A Community-wide Event
Mayor Reid addresses participants before the walk.
84 walkers participated in the November 8 Walk for PTSD Awareness at the Pearland Recreation Center. More than a dozen on-site volunteers supported the event, including members of the Dawson High School Interact Club and the Women Veterans Business Center.
Mayor Tom Reid and State Representative Ed Thompson helped kick off the event honoring service men and women, back from the battlefield but still battling within.
MHI Compressor exhibited in a booth, and H-E-B generously provided a water and snack station for the walkers.
Following the event, walkers received 2014 event challenge coins and were able to enjoy a BBQ lunch at VFW Post 7109’s BBQ and Wild Game Chili Cook-off.
Dawson High School student Kate Yordy (right) recruited other members of the Interact Club to volunteer at the walk.
Marylyn Harris and others from the Women Veterans Business Center volunteered at the walk.
H-E-B generously provided water and snacks for the walk.
Thanks to Event Sponsors
VFW House Chairman Ron Risdon expressed his appreciation for the award by HIKE for Mental Health. “We are so grateful for your support. Thank you for your team’s dedication and skill in organizing this successful event.”
State Representative Ed Thompson with hike organizers Leo Walker, Linda Rider and Tom Kennedy.
The walk was co-sponsored by the City of Pearland and received generous support from sponsors Westside Veterinary Hospital, MHI Compressor, Nancy Kozanecki, Glen and Linda Rider, KBR, Mayor Tom Reid and Pearland City Council members Greg Hill, Tony Carbone, Scott Sherman, Gary Moore and Keith Ordeneaux, State Representative Ed Thompson, H-E-B, Cooling Tower Depot, Pearland Democrats, and North Brazoria County Democrats.
Hello,
I am on the Board of Directors of Counseling Connections for Change, Inc., the only Christian non-profit counseling center in Brazoria County located in Pearland. Our vision is to strengthen mental health in Brazoria County and our mission is to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy individuals, families, and community.
The greatest desire of Counseling Connections is to provide counseling and healthy relationship training to our clients without the burden of financial constraints. We have been blessed to serve in this way and we are proud to have helped so many. Unfortunately, many of our neighbors are without healthcare benefits or receive state funded benefits, which creates an expense shortage between benefit reimbursement rates and operating costs. We see over 100 clients a week. Currently, 42% of those clients require financial help to receive care.
Will you be holding the Hike for Mental Health in Pearland, Texas again in 2015?
I would like to discuss with you how more money could stay in the Pearland community to support Mental Health.
I look forward to hearing from you.