Boots, Blues and Boogie Ball benefits the Phoenix Center
FROM STAFF REPORTS
MARBLE FALLS — With Jay Boy Adams and three-time Grammy nominee Zenobia taking the stage Feb. 7 for the Boots, Blues and Boogie Ball benefitting the Phoenix Center, you’re pretty much guaranteed a good time. And toss on top of that gourmet food and plenty of dancing along with a bit of Mister Sister, and the night promises lots of fun.
And you don’t even have to feel guilty for it because it’s all for a great cause.
The ball raises money for the Phoenix Center, a Marble Falls-based organization that provides mental health care for children who have experienced trauma. The Phoenix Center does this in several ways, including a therapeutic after-school program, parenting classes, therapeutic overnight sessions at Candlelight Ranch and counseling. The center also has the only certified play therapist in the area, which allows the staff to provide play therapy for children as young as 3.
All the programs are designed and facilitated by a licensed therapist.
The Phoenix Center provides these services at no cost to the children or their families thanks to donors and supporters. The Boots, Blues and Boogie Ball is one of the reasons the center can offer state-of-the-art counseling and programs.
And those programs work as demonstrated by the number of youth who have attended the different therapies and made significant improvements. In a recent Phoenix Center newsletter, staff highlighted the story of 13-year-old Eva (name and age changed to protect her identity.) The teen suffered symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder after suffering physical abuse and neglect. To deal with the trauma, Eva “poured” herself into her school work and books. While this resulted in high grades, she basically “lived in another world” and struggled to connect socially.
After CASA for the Highland Lakes Area referred her to the Phoenix Center, staff worked with her at least twice a week for more than a year. The Phoenix Center program helped Eva come out of her “other world” and continue to excel academically as well as socially.
According to Phoenix Center staff, Eva’s hope is to become a child therapist herself and write a book to help other abuse victims. Her story is entering a new chapter as a family is in the process of adopting her.
This is just one of the countless stories about how the Phoenix Center changes the lives of children in the Highland Lakes.
But it takes donations and fundraisers to make this possible.
“The funds raised at our annual gala are vital to ensuring that children who have experienced trauma have access to the highest level of mental health care,” said Sara Garrett, the Phoenix Center founder and executive director. “We continue to see a growing demand for our services. Last year, we increased the number of children served by hiring additional therapists, but we continue to operate with a waiting list. Every donation helps us continue our mission to inspire hope, health and healing by providing the highest level of care to every child and family.”
The Feb. 7 ball is one way people can help support the center’s mission.
Jay Boy Adams is a singer-songwriter who has toured with ZZ Top, the Allman Brothers, Joe Cocker and Bonnie Raitt.
Zenobia, a vocalist and a multi-instrumentalist, has appeared on Broadway in the musical “Hair” and toured with Burt Bacharach.
“We are thrilled to have Jay Boy Adams and Zenobia perform at our event,” Garrett said. “Both artists are in the running for Grammy nominations this year, and thanks to a generous donor, their performance is sponsored in full.”
The night includes gourmet comfort food, a dessert bar and an open beer and wine bar as well as signature drinks.
Tickets are $100 per person. All ticket proceeds go to the Phoenix Center. Go to www.phoenixcentertexas.org or call (830) 637-7848 for more information or to purchase tickets.
The Boots, Blues and Boogie Ball is 6:30-10:30 p.m. Feb. 7 at Quail Point, 107 Twilight in Horseshoe Bay.
editor@thepicayune.com