The Camilla Foundation, led by current Executive Director Charlene Lamar, continues its vital work providing mental health counseling to children throughout Bulloch County. The foundation has significantly expanded its reach, demonstrating a profound commitment to the emotional well-being of young people aged 2 to 17.
The foundation's core mission revolves around offering individual counseling sessions. Beyond this, they have innovatively partnered with organizations like the Boys and Girls Club and Bulloch County Parks and Recreation to deliver social-emotional learning classes and after-school programs. These programs serve as an invaluable "icebreaker," helping children and their families become comfortable with the idea of counseling, often leading to individual therapy referrals.
A notable expansion in the past year has been the foundation's collaboration with Bulloch County Schools. Counselors from the Camilla Foundation now provide in-school services, addressing the immense workload faced by school counselors and offering convenient access to mental health support for students. This initiative eliminates transportation barriers for families and allows children to receive help in a familiar environment.
"We have grown a lot in the three years that we've been providing services, which is great," Lamar explains. "It can be sad if you look at it one way that we're needed, but the other side of it is that we have the resources to provide the help that is needed."
The Camilla Foundation's growth is evident in its staffing, which has increased from one therapist to one full-time counselor and three part-time counselors. This expansion also includes a larger office space with three treatment rooms and a dedicated waiting area, allowing them to serve more children simultaneously.
"It just makes me giddy when I think about three kids being able to be seen at one time rather than having to wait," Lamar says.
Financial support has also seen remarkable growth. Beyond direct counseling, the Camilla Foundation actively engages in community outreach and fundraising to sustain its impact. Their two primary annual fundraisers, the "Sporting Clays Tournament" a clay shoot held in March and the "Pathways to Healing" event in May, are essential to their operations.
The latter, specifically timed for Mental Health Awareness Month, not only generates vital revenue but also serves as a platform to educate the community about available mental health services. The significant increase in donations, with revenue doubling in the past year, underscores the growing public confidence in the foundation's mission and effectiveness. This increasing community trust and financial backing enable the Camilla Foundation to continue its critical mission of ensuring no child is denied mental health care due to lack of resources.
"We're just starting to create that list of supporters that continue to support us from year to year and we're getting more and more people to support our effort," Lamar says.
Lamar is thankful for the more than 20 volunteers who make up The Camilla Foundation's Board of Trustees, a group comprised of various community leaders and experts from the business sector. This board is instrumental in guiding the foundation's direction and growth. Their primary duties involve crafting and implementing a comprehensive strategic plan. This plan encompasses securing financial support through charitable donations, grants, and other fundraising efforts, all with the aim of advancing the foundation's core mission: ensuring uninsured or underserved children in Bulloch County have access to essential mental health and support services.
Looking ahead, the Camilla Foundation remains committed to expanding its capacity to meet the ever-growing need for youth mental health services. While striving to avoid a waiting list, Lamar consistently seeks qualified counselors to balance demand with quality care.
The strategic decision to move into a larger space, now boasting three dedicated treatment rooms, reflects this forward-thinking approach. The foundation also values its strong relationships with community partners, recognizing that collaborative efforts are essential to reaching more children and normalizing mental health support. Their goal is clear: to ensure that any family recognizing a concern for their child's mental well-being, regardless of their financial resources, knows they have a place to turn for help.
For more information, please visit The Camilla Foundation website.
