Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation 5th Annual Golf Classic on May 22, 2017 at El Caballero Country Club Raises Funds For Youth Mental Health Programs & Unveils Matt's Hero Award Winners
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 1, 2017
Contact: Toby Gilbert PR
281-546-6457
toby@tobygilbert.us
www.mattsfoundation.org
“When youth suicide is the first leading cause of death in children ages 10-14, and the second leading cause of death for youth aged 15-24, then mental health education for students, their parents and teachers is foundational to life and learning.”
LOS ANGELES, May 1, 2017, — One of California’s extraordinary benefit tournaments, the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation’s 5th Annual Los Angeles Charity Golf Classic at El Caballero Country Club on May 22nd, raises funds to save children’s lives through MSMF lifeline teen suicide prevention and mental health education to schools.
The yearly MSMF Golf Classic raises the funds for its entire year of school mental health programming. This year the tournament sold out 45 days early. Despite the sold-out status, supporters are continuing to donate to Matt’s Foundation (www.mattsfoundation.org), heart-warming generosity that makes it possible for Matt’s Foundation to reach more children in the Los Angeles-area, helping them to not only overcome the mental health pain that imperils a whole generation, but to flourish.
The day begins at 9:00 am at the El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana and ends after more than 150 golfers finish their rounds and guests gather at cocktail hour for music and particularly delicious food catered by the top Los Angeles restaurants. After a short 5:00 pm Cocktail Hour and Walking Dinner, a brief program and auction follows when the 2017 Matt’s Hero Award Winners are honored for their impressive local and national efforts in youth mental health advocacy.
The MSMF 2017 Matt’s Teen Hero is Rebecca Meshkani, a gifted 17-year-old graduating Beverly Hills High School senior + peer counselor who began the on-campus Embrace Your Beauty Mark Club (“Embrace your imperfections: they are your source of originality and strength”) and launched multiple creative mental health campaigns on her BHHS campus. MSMF just helped Rebecca fulfill her dream of finding a youth health mental internship. MSMF worked with Lyn Morris, VP of Clinical Services at Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, to create a first-ever teen-internship at Didi Hirsch for Rebecca, beginning this summer, and continuing through her years at Santa Monica College. MSMF and Didi Hirsch work together to encourage our city’s next generation of mental health professionals And we know that teens often prefer talking to other teens when they are in experiencing mental health pain, so the internship provides specially informed teens to help their cohorts.
The MSMF 2017 Matt’s Educator Hero is Susana Recinos, representing the Neuwirth Counseling Team at Alliance Neuwirth Leadership Academy, who, with her team, created original mental health programming to maximize the value of MSMF presentations for her six hundred 9th-12th grade charter students. Susana and her team will share their original programming with MSMF for use in other schools. A month in advance of our “Send Silence packing” teen suicide prevention installation, through a survey to the students, Susana + team were able to identify 40 children (7% of the student body) who were at immediate risk for suicide. The students received urgent and on-going counseling and Susana developed a realm of extracurricular yoga, meditation, art, and cooking classes to offer her students healthy stress relievers.
This year for the first time the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation awards a National Matt’s Hero Award to Dana Pittard, a recently Retired Major General who went to war on suicide at Ft. Bliss with 32 new programs when he was Commander. Under his command, the base went from having the most the suicides to the least. Dana Pittard radiates a rare and powerful combination of greatness, and humility.
As a result of his decades of experience at West Point, on the battlefront and at Ft. Bliss, Dana is a staunch proponent of mental health education in schools. Matt’s National Hero Award Winner Dana Pittard and MSMF Founder Ron Silverman are dedicated to early, on-going mental education in schools as the frontline defense against youth suicide and are joining forces to advocate for the lifeline student programming.
Dana and his equally magnificent wife, Lucille Pittard, will spend the day with MSMF supporters on May 22nd, along with their longtime California friends, Jean and Ramon Gueits, who, like Ron, also lost their teen-age son to suicide.
Ron Silverman, Dana Pittard and the Matthew Silverman Memorial Foundation are working together to build a national youth mental health advocacy message.
Please visit www.mattsfoundation.org for the complete details for the Matt’s Foundation 5th Annual Los Angeles Golf Classic on May 22, 2017, at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, CA.
Overview follows:
2017 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Registration
Continental Breakfast
Gifting Lounge
Red Carpet
Chipping Contest
Driving Range Opens
11:00 AM
Shotgun Start
Four Person Team Format
Exciting par 3 challenges and the Charity Angels await you!
A variety of food and beverage stations on-course during play
4:30 - 6:30 PM
19th Tee Celebration
Hosted Bar
Walking Dinner
Red Carpet
Entertainment
Gourmet Dessert Station
Presentations of Team
Contest Winners
Auction
Opportunity Board Prizes