Mental Health issues and depression often come to the forefront during the holiday season, but now a surprise player, Facebook, is helping out with that cause, and one local non-profit – Mental Health Greensboro – is hoping that Facebook’s sudden generosity will spur local citizens to give money to combat mental health problems in Guilford County.
Tuesday, Dec. 3 is “Giving Tuesday” – a day that was so named seven years ago in an effort to increase charitable giving worldwide. In honor of that day, Facebook is matching charitable donations made on Facebook’s platform, so Mental Health Greensboro officials are asking citizens to help the non-profit reach its fundraising goal this year by donating directly to Mental Health Greensboro’s “Giving Tuesday Facebook Campaign” on Tuesday. Facebook is matching donations to non-profits – including Mental Health Greensboro – beginning at 8 a.m.
People can also take advantage of the matching offer by starting and sharing their own Facebook fundraiser to benefit Mental Health Greensboro on Giving Tuesday.
According to Mental Health Greensboro officials, the group is only able to provide direct services to help heal those with mental issues due to the kind charitable giving of donors across the community.
The local non-profit posted, on Facebook, a summary of the work it does to inspire people to donate.
“Everyday people walk through the door looking for a new way to live life,” the statement reads. “Our peers are recovering from depression and grief, crippling anxiety, or mental health diagnosis such as bi-polar or PTSD [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder]. They are everyday people looking for a path away from lives lived in anger and stress, or lives where drugs or abuse took hold and took a toll. Our peers are searching for hope for a better tomorrow and, by seeking help at MHG [Mental Health Greensboro], have taken the first step to finding it.”
Mental Health Greensboro supports mental health in the community through two basic methods: recovery support services and public education about mental illness. The group’s services are based on an accepted model of behavioral health treatment and use “evidence based guidelines” provided by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Mental Health Greensboro, which was formerly known as Mental Health Association in Greensboro, is a local grant and donor-funded 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that describes itself as “Greensboro’s only dedicated peer-support recovery organization, combining mental health and recovery education, peer coaching, support group facilitation and peer support specialist training.”
Information about starting and sharing your own fundraiser for Mental Health Greensboro can be found at www.facebook.com/fund/mhagboro/.
