A year after the tragic shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the demand for counseling persists - and so do the grants to offer it.
A year after the tragic shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the demand for counseling persists - and so do the grants to offer it.
PARKLAND, Fla., Feb. 14, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As the one-year anniversary of a tragedy that never should have happened approaches, one non-profit has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to ensure the survivors recover.
The organization will spend hundreds of thousands more this coming year, declares Parkland Cares founder Howard Dvorkin, the Chairman of Debt.com. He formed Parkland Cares just after the school shooting and their goal was to help fund and bring awareness to mental health and trauma counseling. To that end, Parkland Cares awarded grants this month totaling $164,000 to the following agencies:
- $55,000 to Behavioral Health Associates of Broward, Counseling Centers of Goodman JFS, which opened counseling facilities in the Parkland area to provide trauma counseling close to where the victims live.
- $50,000 to 2-1-1 Broward, the live, 24-hour, comprehensive helpline which provides all people with crisis, health and human services support, connecting them to resources in our community.
- $34,000 to Tomorrow’sRainbow, which offers grieving children, teens and their families an emotionally safe environment.
- $25,000 to BobbyResciniti Healing Hearts, which provides local grief counseling at Bobby’s Place to parents who have suffered the loss of a child.
“Organizations such as Parkland Cares make it possible for us to provide services regardless of an individual’s ability to pay for needed counseling,” says Lisa Rahman, President and CEO of Broward Behavioral Associates.
In August 2018, Parkland Cares awarded $75,000 in grants to three non-profits and the total amount granted now stands at $239,000. Dvorkin set a grant-writing goal of $200,000 for the first year of Parkland Cares, and he was pleased to beat that by nearly 20 percent.
“We expected to hit that goal, but exceeding it is a testament to all the donors, and to all our volunteers, and to our board of directors,” says Don Silvestri, President of Debt.com and Parkland Cares’ founding member.
Bobby Resciniti of Healing Hearts told us that this grant is “the most funding we have ever received at one time,” and added, “the funds will enable us to offer enhanced programs for Parkland and Coral Springs families, MSD students and faculty.”
“The funding generously provided by Parkland Cares will ensure that 2-1-1 Broward is there to connect Parkland-area students and families with resources,” says Sheila Smith, CEO of 2-1-1 Broward. Abby Mosher, Executive Director of Tomorrow’s Rainbow, said, “To date, our services to support MSD students have been unfunded. This generous grant makes it possible to continue providing emotional support, not only for our community’s immediate needs, but also the needs for many years to come.”
Stacey Udine, Parkland Cares Executive Director is realistic, however: “Our grants can’t ever give us back what was taken. Yet in a small way, they can help us rebuild our community. And we’re not going to stop until everyone who needs care gets care.”
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SOURCE Parkland Cares
