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Hello to all of our valued subscribers and supporters. September has been a busy time for us. In addition to being National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month it is also the start of hockey season, and as such, the Foundation's first outeach program has been completed. During training camps for the Great Falls Americans, Helena Bighorns, Bozeman Ice Dogs and Butte Cobras, all of the players were given a presentation highlighting the importance of mental health as well as warning signs to look for in themselves and others.

The presentation also outlined what resources the Foundation has available to them, primarily Montana-based, confidential, cost-free mental health care providers as well as counseling services for those that just need a little guidance. Our partnership with Alluvion Health Systems in Great Falls is a key asset in our mission and we are very grateful for their participation. With their cooperation the Foundation is able to provide one month's worth of behavioral health care for $125 per person. As the cost of one initial psychiatric evaluation is near $300, this is a powerful tool for us to do some real good in the world.

Coming soon we anticipate announcing fundraising events as well as some merchandise we hope to make available early in the new year. We are also working on expanding our outreach and coverage programs to other underserved areas of the country and look forward to bringing you news of our progress there. As always, thank you so much for your support and please take care of yourselves and each other.

Hello, everyone. It's time for an update as we have lots of positive news to share. First, I would like to introduce the foundation's Board of Directors. We are very fortunate to have such a qualified and passionate group of individuals that have signed on to offer their experience and expertise in guiding our organization going forward. You can learn more about them below.

We are also very pleased to announce our partnership with Alluvion Health of Great Falls, MT that will be providing behavioral health services as needed to our Montana teams of the NA3HL league. Currently the Great Falls Americans, Butte Cobras, Bozeman Ice Dogs and Helena Big Horns have all signed up to participate in our mental health outreach program and provide their players priority access to mental health care when the need arises.

We hope that everyone is enjoying the summer and has a fun and safe Independence Day Holiday. Take care of each other and we will be in touch later this year with more updates.

Hello everyone. We just wanted to mark the occasion of Mental Heath Awareness Month and thank you all for your support. We have some big updates coming in the near future that we are very excited about and hope you and your families are all are doing well and enjoying the spring or summer wherever you may be.

Thank you to all who have generously supported us and especially those of you receiving this update.  I am pleased to say that the Vinnie Marroni Miracle Assist Foundation has received official 501 (c)(3) status as a recognized non-profit organization from the Internal Revenue Service.  This means that your contributions for 2021 and beyond are tax deductible by referencing our tax ID number 87-2087041.

With that in place we have begun our outreach program of contacting junior hockey teams and having them sign up with our organization and agreeing to have mental health care clinicians added to their current staff of team doctors to provide care for their players when needed.  Upon signing up, we find each team a local (when available) psychiatric provider and therapist or counselor that agrees to provide priority appointments to the players of their team when needed.  This process has been much more difficult than we had anticipated, as four to six month wait times for appointments are not uncommon, further underscoring our understanding of just how dire the need is for more people in this field of work.  

We believe that this arrangement will benefit all parties involved in the relationship with the foundation.  The players, typically aged 16-21, many of whom are from all across North America and Europe, may not have insurance that covers this type of care and thus be reluctant to seek help when needed.  The teams that sign up with us get a powerful recruiting tool to attract talent as well as a means to help keep their players mentally healthy and available to play. The clinicians that participate in the program get the benefit of knowing that their fees will be covered by the Foundation in the event that insurance does not.  We also plan to have introductory materials available for participating teams for the start of next season as well as a type of orientation presentation to impart the importance of care to players and coaches.  It is also our hope that this diverse group of players exposed to our program will have new attitudes and awareness of mental health priorities and carry that with them going forward in life, becoming ambassadors of change and having a positive influence on the many parts of the world that they are from and to which they go.

For our initial push, we are introducing our program in the NA3HL's Frontier division, which consists of eight teams in Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota.  We feel that the vastness of the geography involved and the culture shock that many players coming here may experience, especially those leaving their homes for the first time, lends itself to an increased need to cope with anxiety, depression and many other unfamiliar mental health perils that players may experience.  Another reason in deciding where to start is that Vinnie is an alumnus of the Great Falls Americans and we felt it important to continue his story there. 

For our progress to date, we have three teams signed up.  The Butte Cobras, the Bozeman Ice Dogs and the Great Falls Americans.  We would like to extend a special thank you to Willow Rossmiller who put in the work to set up Great Falls with its own integrated mental health care program. So far it has been much more difficult than expected to find local clinicians for the teams and may be necessary to utilize telehealth services when needed. We of course are gladly accepting referrals for therapists, counselors and providers that might be interested in participating either now or in the future. 

Looking ahead, the new year will bring continued expansion of our outreach efforts as well as the assembling and announcement of our board of directors.  We look forward to sharing our progress with you and greatly appreciate your very generous support in 2021 and beyond.  We are hopeful that 2022 will be a much better year for everyone and their families and are excited about the possibility to help make that happen.