Planting Hope, Growing Care

Hi friends! This year-end season, I'm raising $1,000 for the Counseling & Education Center (CEC), a Grand Junction nonprofit that has provided hope and healing through professional, affordable counseling for 45 years. As a member of CEC's Board of Directors, I've committed to reaching this goal by Colorado Gives Day on December 8. Together our board is working toward $12,000. I'd love your help getting there!

I joined CEC's board because I believe everyone in our valley deserves a place to turn when life gets hard. I love that CEC puts people first - rather than developing a program and then seeing who qualifies and who doesn't, CEC is committed to helping everyone and builds programs that make that possible. Last year, CEC’s therapists worked with more than 500 people, and about 70% of them were living with low incomes. I’m raising money for CEC so that anyone in our community who needs counseling can get it, no matter what they can afford.

CEC provides professional counseling for adults, teens, children, couples, and families working through grief, trauma, anxiety, depression, and life’s hardest transitions. What sets CEC apart is that it welcomes everyone, whether they have Medicaid, private insurance, or no insurance at all, and focuses on what each person needs rather than what they can afford. Fees on a sliding scale start at $15 per session, and there are no eligibility requirements or limits on how many sessions someone can receive. That means people can stay in counseling for as long as they need to truly heal. CEC also recently opened a location in Orchard Mesa, bringing care closer to a part of our community where resources are limited and the need is great.

Your gift helps a neighbor get through a crisis, a child process a traumatic event, or a family find its footing again. It also helps make sure the next person who reaches out for help finds a counselor ready to see them. No gift is too small. Because many clients pay as little as $15 a session, even a small gift helps close the gap between what counseling costs and what someone can afford. Every donation counts toward my goal and our board’s team total.

Thank you for helping our neighbors heal, grow, and thrive. When someone gets the support they need, all of us are better for it. Please share this page with anyone who believes, like I do, that no one should have to face their hardest moments alone.