Pro Bono Counseling to Celebrate Maryland Licensed Mental Health Volunteers at Gratitude Gathering
Event Includes Dr. Radha Pathak Humanitarian Award and Terapias Community Care Award Presentations
Baltimore, MD, April 26, 2024 – Pro Bono Counseling (PBC) will hold its annual Gratitude Gathering on Thursday, May 2, from 4:00 – 7:00 PM, to celebrate its volunteers for the impact they make each year to ensure all Marylanders have access to mental health care. During the event, PBC will also acknowledge its generous supporters and community partners, and will honor Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) Director Dr. Asma Naeem with the Dr. Radha Pathak Humanitarian Award.
“Pro Bono Counseling has been able to connect thousands of Marylanders with the mental health care resources they need and deserve for more than 30 years thanks to the dedication of licensed mental health professionals enrolled as volunteers, as well as the partnership of our generous constituents and donors,” stated PBC Executive Director Amy Greensfelder, LCSW. “And we are thrilled to present the Pathak Award to Dr. Naeem for the work she is doing to prioritize social justice.”
“I am deeply honored to receive this award from Pro Bono Counseling, which provides such essential services for Maryland citizens and shares similar values as the BMA,” said Dr. Asma Naeem, the museum’s Dorothy Wagner Wallis Director. “For several years the BMA has been working to make social justice the norm so that everyone feels welcome regardless of their race, ethnicity, education, or socio-economic status. We believe art experiences can be a catalyst for inspiration, conversation, and connection to make our world a better place.”
In celebration of the ten-year anniversary of PBC’s Terapias Initiative, the Terapias Community Care Award will be presented to: Donna Batkis, LCSW-C; Kathleen Page, MD, and the team at Behavior Health Equity Across Maryland; Catalina Rodriguez Lima, Director of the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs; and Giuliana Valencia-Banks, Baltimore County’s Chief of Immigrant Affairs. They are being recognized for their response attending to the emotional, language, and cultural needs of the families impacted by the Key Bridge tragedy.
“So many people stepped up to assist those in need during the recent Key Bridge tragedy and we are grateful for their services,” said Amy. “We were especially humbled by PBC volunteers who pledged their support along with these awardees who provided the immediate assistance and care the impacted families needed.”
Pro Bono Counseling (PBC), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1991 to ensure that Marylanders with limited resources requesting mental health care are provided access to volunteer licensed mental health professionals and other necessary supportive services. Since then, PBC has helped match thousands of individuals and families throughout Maryland with the most appropriate counselors, based on their specific needs, and helped them obtain the mental health care they could not otherwise afford.
PBC’s vision is the availability of quality mental health care for all those in need. The organization serves anyone in Maryland who is facing difficulties paying for counseling – including individuals of all ages, as well as couples, and families– through connections to volunteer mental health therapists for free counseling to address mental health concerns, including stress, anxiety, sadness, grief, life transitions, relationship issues, or any other issue that can be addressed through therapy. PBC has a network of more than 800 volunteer licensed mental health counselors, covering a range of specialties, located all throughout Maryland. Counseling services are offered in person, and via video conferencing and telephone.
For tickets or more information about the event, CLICK HERE.
The following organizations and individuals are sponsoring the Gratitude Gathering: Counseling Champion Carefirst BlueCross BlueShield; Pro Bono Partners Formosa Bros Foundation and The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company; Community Advocates Johns Hopkins University & Medicine, Sheppard Pratt, Southway Builders, Transamerica, United Way of Central Maryland, and the University of Maryland School of Social Work; and Event Supporters CHANA, DeNovo Projects, Swaran Dhawan, Martha Macks-Kahn and Peter Kahn MD, NAMI Metropolitan Baltimore, Shane Tanzymore, and The Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund.
