Dear friends,
I hope this message finds you well.
We are thrilled to see all the pride throughout San Mateo County this month. StarVista and our San Mateo County Pride Center and Crisis Center programs were honored to participate in San Mateo County’s Pride Celebration, along with participating in the first SMC Pride Parade in downtown San Mateo. I invite you to support our Pride Center program on the national GiveOut Day on June 28 here. In addition, StarVista is proud to recognize Juneteenth as a holiday for the first time this year. Staff are encouraged to participate in Juneteenth activities throughout the Bay Area.
This month, we also gratefully accepted a generous donation of $92,500 from our partners at SolMateo! SolMateo is a volunteer group working to support our local community with issues surrounding mental health. To date, SolMateo has raised over $1.5 million for our Crisis Center program. We are truly grateful for their partnership and advocacy for crisis services.
I’d like to thank everyone who participated in our Mental Health Matters 2023 event last month. The event was a big success – we had nearly 600 individuals of all ages join us at Seal Point Park for a 5K Run/Walk and Wellness Fair. I’d especially like to thank our event co-hosts, San Mateo PAL, as well as our event sponsors and community partners for honoring Mental Health Awareness Month in San Mateo County. Read the full event recap here.
Lastly, I am excited to share that our Kids Kamp getaway camp is back! Kids Kamp is hosted by our Children’s Place program and is unique to San Mateo County. All participants come from homes where family members are experiencing mental health issues and/or alcohol and drug addiction. In August, nearly 20 children are eligible for our annual Kids Kamp, but they need your help to participate. In celebration of the return of Kids Kamp camping experience, we are thrilled to share that a very generous donor is offering a $30,000 dollar-for-dollar match for Kids Kamp this year! Help a child heal this summer at Kids Kamp. Donate today.
Warm regards,
Sara Larios Mitchell, Ph.D., MACP
CEO