PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Saturday, October 21st CHC hosted a sold-out crowd of nearly 500 community leaders, parents, professionals, and philanthropists at its fifth annual CHC Rocktoberfest fundraiser, held in Woodside, CA. The benefit celebration raised funds to help children, teens and young adults get the services they need to become resilient, happy and successful at home, at school and in life.
CHC Rocktoberfest, hosted by Olympic Gold Medalist Jonny Moseley, and co-chaired by community volunteers Rachelle Analla, Sydnee Brooks, Jere King & Rebecca Schnitt, has become one of the hottest tickets around, known for it’s fun mix of Oktoberfest with a California twist. Featuring farm-to-table food, over 20 fine artisan wines and craft beers, and dancing to 80’s hits from Bay Area favorites Tainted Love, guests were treated to a first-class evening out. Under twinkling lights, guests bid on over 30 unique experiences in the silent and live auctions including luxury vacations to France, Mexico and New Orleans; luxury suites and courtside tickets to sporting events; a one-of-a kind See’s Candies promotion & tour; a Warren Miller movie date with Olympian Jonny Moseley and much more. The event was made possible by event sponsors, both corporate and individual, including Hercules Capital, Catherine Harvey & Perri Guthrie, DPR Construction, Pearl Law Group, Merrilee Harris and many others.
“My career was defined by winning an Olympic gold medal in 1998,” began guest host Jonny Moseley. “But when I think back on the experience, it’s the losses, and failing to qualify for the ’94 Olympics that really define me. I was given a team of psychologists and coaches and fought harder than everyone else to get back to the ’98 Olympics. The hard work and the strong team ended up being the difference in me going to the Olympics and winning a gold medal. At CHC, parents, teachers, and clinicians create a strong support team that works together to remove barriers so kids and teens can learn and become resilient and happy.”
For Adam Harris Sabir, his CHC team changed his life. When Adam was young he wanted to be a Navy pilot. But by 2nd grade he had been diagnosed with dysgraphia, a learning difference of written expression, making it difficult to write things down. “Sometimes it was so stressful that I ran away from class,” said Adam. His teachers mistakenly thought this was a behavior issue, which created more anxiety for Adam. He found it more and more difficult to go to school. When the family moved to the SF Bay Area, Adam’s mom, Hadar Harris, approached Sand Hill School at CHC. She told Heather Whitlock, Assistant Head of Sand Hill School that she was really concerned about Adam and school. Whitlock told her not to worry. “This is what we do,” she said. “We take kids who have had bad experiences like this and we help them love learning again.” To address Adam’s anxiety about school, teachers helped Adam see that Sand Hill School was a safe place to be & that he was a good student.
Learning differences and anxiety often go hand in hand. At CHC, Adam was able to take advantage of the tight integration between Sand Hill School and CHC’s Clinical services. “What we’ve been able to access is not only the excellent teachers at Sand Hill School, but also the therapist that Adam works with, who works upstairs, passes Adam on the playground, resources who are all together when something happens. That has been incredibly important,” said Adam’s mom. CHC strives to remove as many barriers as possible to ensure each child receives what he or she needs. For Adam’s family, that includes financial aid so he can get the therapy services he needs. “My insurance doesn’t cover therapy services,” she continued. “As a human rights attorney and single mom, that can be difficult. CHC’s sliding scale has enabled us to offset our services with financial aid.”
Since Adam has been at Sand Hill School, Adam’s family has seen enormous emotional growth in Adam. Teachers have also seen Adam grow from a child who hated school, to a kid who is confident, a good self-advocate, a good friend to others, and who genuinely loves being at school. “When stuff happens to your kid, it happens to your whole family,” said Adam’s mom. “We really feel supported by all of the team at Sand Hill and CHC, and we are sincerely grateful.”
Dr. Rosalie Whitlock, Executive Director of CHC is overwhelmed by the remarkable community support shown to CHC at Rocktoberfest. “Funds raised tonight will help kids like Adam get the support they need. Your support changes lives,” she said. Moved by the tremendous need for mental health services in the community, an anonymous group of donors kicked off the Fund-A-Need appeal by offering a $100,000 dollar-for-dollar matching grant to guest contributions throughout the evening.
About Children’s Health Council
For 65 years, CHC has been improving the lives of children, teens and young adults in our community by removing barriers to learning like ADHD, Learning Differences, Anxiety & Depression and Autism. CHC has helped more than a million families so far. CHC provides education and mental health services so children and teens can become resilient, happy and successful at home, at school and in life. At CHC, we’re here for you. En CHC, estamos aqui para ti. To learn more about CHC and its programs, to schedule an appointment or to contribute, visit www.chconline.org/rocktoberfest/fund-a-need/ or call 650.688.3625.
For information about Learning Differences visit: http://www.chconline.org/resourcelibrary/.
