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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 22, 2011BLUEBONNET TRAILS COMMUNITY SERVICES AND PICK WITH AUSTIN EXPAND MUSIC THERAPY OPPORTUNITIES AT CRISIS RESPITE UNIT
(Round Rock, TX) – Bluebonnet Trails Community Services (BTCS) today received four new Yamaha acoustic guitars for use in music therapy at the San Gabriel Crisis Respite Unit. Jeff Curley, Founder of PickWithAustin, presented the guitars to staff at the Georgetown facility. In March, BTCS and PickWithAustin launched a partnership targeting suicide awareness and prevention among teens and young Central Texans through music therapy.
"It is our goal to see these guitars benefit individuals by helping to provide a venue through which people in distress can escape regular daily issues through the creative application of music." notes Jeff Curley.
Curley made the presentation in honor of his son, Alan Carter Villaruz-Curley who tragically took his own life in 2010. In memorial to his son, Jeff Curley founded Pick With Austin, which pays tribute to Alan’s gift of music and is saving lives through music therapy and outreach for at-risk teens and young people.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, suicide is the third leading cause of death, behind accidents and homicide, of people 15 to 24 years old. Equally alarming, it is the fourth leading cause of death for children ages 10 to 14.
“We are humbled by Jeff’s generosity and proud of our partnership with PickWithAustin in this lifesaving effort,” said Andrea Richardson, Executive Director for BTCS. “Music is a universal language, and it’s often even more powerful than words, especially among young people. That’s why we’re so grateful for these guitars; they will help increase our ability to use music therapy in crisis prevention and treatment.”
About BTCS:Bluebonnet Trails Community Services was formed in 1997 and now serves an eight county region, including Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Lee and Williamson Counties. More than 700,000 Texans live in the Bluebonnet Trails Community Services region. Bluebonnet Trails provides 24-hour crisis care, mental health services, developmentally disability services, early childhood intervention and substance addiction services.
For more information on BTCS, please visit www.bbtrails.org.
About BTCS:About PickWithAustin:
PickWithAustin, Inc., is a non-profit corporation that operates in the memory of Texas teen guitarist, Alan Carter Villaruz-Curley. The organization’s purpose is to help educate and elevate community awareness about the growing epidemic of youth depression and suicide. PickWithAustin use’s Alan’s Gift of Music to enhance raise awareness while providing donated guitars kids and young people in hospitals, youth groups, ministries or those who have been identified in some way as being potentially “at risk” of depression.
PickWithAustin, Inc. is fully funded and supported by private and corporate grants and donations, and by the goodwill of those who donate their time and efforts into making Alan’s memory live on forever.
For more information on PickWithAustin, please visit www.pickwithaustin.com
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