We did it!  Thanks to all of our volunteers, participants, and contributors, our first annual NAMIWALKS IN ASHEVILLE, organized and hosted by NAMI-Western Carolina, hit a home run!  We were lucky to have a beautiful, sunny, breezy day at Carrier Park.  More than 105 (still counting) Walkers and scores of others donated to this Walk which was held in tandem with the 6th Annual Walk in Raleigh.  It truly surpassed our expectations and we want to thank all of you for being part of it!  You made it happen.

State Senator Martin Nesbitt was our honorary chairman.  Sheriff Van Duncan spoke about the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) here in Buncombe County and the officers trained specifically to work with emergency calls involving consumers with a mental health diagnosis.  He pointed out that NAMI-WC member, Mona Cornwell, was instrumental in bringing this program to Western Carolina.  Arthur Carder, CEO of Western Highlands Network, spoke of the difficulties of providing services in the face of drastic budget cuts in North Carolina, but he also spoke of the hard work that is going on in our area to find ways to fill in these service gaps.  (Please contact our state legislators and advocate for the return of funds to the mental health budget).  Andrea Morris, a great WALKS advocate at Western Highlands, spoke of efforts to keep programs running and of the cooperation of diverse agencies to expand the services that are ongoing. 

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Huge THANK YOU’s to all of those local businesses who helped us to make this first Walk such a great experience and success.  Mission Hospital, CooperRiis, and Best Friends Cemetery and Crematory generously supported us as Sponsors.  Mary McGahran, graphic designer at Mercury Creative Group, contributed considerable time and talent to design our poster and flyers.  THANK YOU to Laurey’s Catering, the Spice and Tea Exchange of Asheville, Sugar Momma’s Cookies, the Grove Park Inn, Asheville artist Jennifer Barrineau of Tree Gallery & Gifts, the Gaidi-Schunk family, Bone-A-Fide Bakery in Black Mountain, The Detail Shop in Black Mountain, One Mind Mental Illness Ministry of Mills River, Marnie Davis, and our NAMI-Western Carolina affiliate for donating gifts for the silent auction and raffle. Our appreciation also goes out to Richard Sackett and Roberta Greenspan for providing the music, and to Jeff and Susan at Kohl’s Department Store for providing us with five enthusiastic, hardworking volunteers and a grant to help us with NAMI BASICS, our educational program for parents of children with a mental illness.  A great day of fun with a purpose by the French Broad River!  Bake sale, information tables, t-shirts, balloons. It all worked!

WLOS-TV sent a cameraman and told the story of our Walk on the evening news.  We hope to add the clip to this website.  We also hope to add a video by Chip Leslie that was filmed especially for us.  Chip came in at the last minute and really covered the crowd. Puppies included!

We are so grateful to all of you who contributed your time and enthusiasm to this Walk.  You did it in so many ways and you did it so well!  This could never have happened without you, and the money raised will benefit all of us by helping NAMI-WC to continue and to expand programs.  Our increased visibility will bring more attention to the needs of the mental health community and help us in partnering with other organizations who share the same mission – to support, educate, advocate, and serve those with a mental illness and their caregivers.

On Saturday, May 1, 2010, we all came out to BEAT THE STIGMA! To CHANGE MINDS - ONE STEP AT A TIME!  People from NAMI-WC, NAMI-Four Seasons, NAMI-Boone, NAMI-Polk, Western Highlands Network, Western Alliance – Center for Independent Living, the Mental Health Association, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department. the Sixth Avenue Clubhouse, Copestone, and individuals who just wanted to speak out — all helped to make this a day to remember. THANK YOU!  LET’S DO IT AGAIN NEXT YEAR!

Donations to NAMIWALKS will be accepted through June 30, 2010. If you wish to donate, please send your check made out to “Nami-WC Walks” to P.O. Box 8046, Asheville, NC 28814. Donations to NAMIWALKS will be shared 50-50 with NAMI-North Carolina.

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