Moorpark College students and staff will be participating in the annual NAMIWalks that Ventura County hosted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
The goal of Moorpark students and staff is a campus-wide effort in order to reach as many people in the community and get them to participate in the event.
NAMI is a national organization that focuses on improving the lives of individuals and families that are affected by mental illness.
NAMI walks are held in cities all across the country as a fundraising effort for the organization and to heighten the level of mental health awareness in those local communities.
According to NAMI, the walks around the country will raise more than 10 million dollars nationwide for the organization that will aid the individuals and families affected. All of the funds raised in Ventura County will go directly to mental health related programs in the area.
Anyone is welcome to participate in the event. Participants range from individuals to large groups of people registered in teams.
David Birchman, English professor at Moorpark College, is co-organizing the team that will be representing the college dubbed, Team MC.
Birchman said that mental illness is something that affects the college community, students ands staff alike.
“Many instructors have had students in their classes who would otherwise have been successful,” he said. “But some are diagnosed with one or more types of conditions.”
Moorpark College will have a large presence at the event according to Birchman.
“We expect Team MC to be over 50 strong by the day of the walk,” he said. “We also invite all who are interested in walking or donating to join our team.”
NAMIWalks Ventura County will be held this Saturday, May 4 at the Ventura Beach Promenade at 9:00 A.M.
Anyone associated with Moorpark College is encouraged to register for the walk under “Team MC.” Donations can also be made to NAMI or to specific individual walkers.
For more information on NAMIWALKS Ventura county visit: http://www.nami.org/MSTemplate.cfm?Section=NAMIWalks24&Site=NAMI_Ventura_County&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=152336
