In an effort to raise awareness, I will be trekking 100km in high altitudes along the Andean Volcanoes in Ecuador.  I am undertaking this challenge with a group of 80 to 100 employees of HSBC Bank.  Each participant will be raising money to support their favorite Mental Health charity. 

I have chosen Child Mind Institute as my nonprofit organization. I chose this organization as they are dedicated to helping children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders.  This particular area has a place near and dear in my heart.  As some may know, I have two wonderful children.  As some may not know, my children and I struggle on a daily basis with mental health issues. 

When my son Zachary was three years old, he started to act out in daycare.  I didn’t think much of my child taking off his crocs and throwing them in the fish tank.  I figured he was just a little stressed because our family was in the process of moving.  However, when we moved to our new home and were in a new daycare, things began to get much worse. Zach had developed a habit of screaming and yelling and throwing tantrums that were uncontrollable.  He did everything he could think of to make the situation so uncomfortable to be around that caregivers had no choice but to call home and have him picked up.  We tried everything we could think of to figure out how a seemingly normal child could turn into a terror.  We reached out to psychologists and had people come work with him so that he could learn to control himself.  All along the way I committed myself to 50 to 60 hour work weeks while I struggled to find answers for my child. Eventually I was able to advocate for my child to be tested for learning disorders and psychological issues.  What I learned was that Zach was a genius that had attention deficit hypertension disorder and was on the autism spectrum.  What I thought this would be my ticket to help for my son, was turned into a nightmare.  While I understood the why, I was still struggling with the how. As in how do I help him and how to I convince the school system that my child was in fact had a mental health issue and was not just acting out because he was a bad child.  Eventually I was able to convince the school system that Zach was indeed worthy of a second chance so to speak.  Rather than send him to a school with children that had difficulty learning or tried to burn down the school, I was able to advocate for a school that had teachers to teach Zach how to deal with his learning disorder.  Thanks to the struggle, Zach is now a straight A student entering 8^th grade and his second year of a gifted math program at the University of Buffalo.

I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones. I was able to find and afford the resources I needed to help my family.  For those that need assistance, Child Mind Institute works to give children access to the best and most effective treatments when they are needed most.  They also work to advance the science behind the developing brain so that diagnosis and treatment can be improved. Most importantly to me, they provide useful, accurate information to support families and communities in their struggle to find help.  Had I had more information at my fingertips, I might have been able to spare Zach some of our 4 year struggle.  I know that by supporting the Child Mind Institute WE CAN HELP OTHERS.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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