It was a great day at the ballpark on August 16th. Staff, Board, and clients celebrated Community Healing Centers day at the Kalamazoo Kings game. CEO Sally Reames, was presented with a check for $465 from the Kings, These funds will be used to support services at CHC

	Thousands came out to enjoy great rock music on August 21st and 22nd, as Wright for Kids presented the 2009 Rock for Kids concerts. Loverboy headlined on Friday night and Kansas on Saturday night. Although Mother Nature did not provide the most ideal weather conditions, fans still were there to enjoy the music, food, and to support the cause. Many thanks go to Bill Wright for bringing this special event to Kalamazoo and for supporting children's causes.

Community Healing Centers is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a CARF Three Year Accreditation for it's outpatient and intensive outpatient addiction treatment, outpatient mental health treatment, detoxification, residential treatment, and child and youth services programs. CARF is an independent, non-profit accrediting body that establishes consumer focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services.

This accreditation decision represents the highest level that can be awarded to an organization and demonstrates substancial conformance to the CARF standards. An organization receiving a three year accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer reviews process and has demonstrated to a team of on-site surveyors that its programs and services are of the highest quality, measurable, and accountable.

According to the survey summary, “Community Healing Centers clearly reflects a dedication to a person-centered environment. Persons served are treated with dignity and respect and are involved as active participants. They are given opportunities to experience success in their programs and their lives.” Sally Reames, executive director of the agency notes “we are pleased with the results of this survey and proud of our staff and Board of Directors.” the survey goes on to say, “the organization is a well-recognized and respected community service provider... and is involved in many aspects of innovative and supportive roles to better services in the community. (It's) board of Directors is deeply committed to the organization and it's long-term health and fiscal solvency. It is apparent that staff members are deeply invested in providing the best treatment possible to the persons served. Their responsiveness and genuine caring for the persons served set a high professional standard of care.

Congratulations to all who helped earn this award

The 2009 Recovery Classic Golf Tournament raised $3,505 for the Jim Gilmore Jr. Community Healing Center. There were over 120 golfers who participated. First place was shared with a score of 6 under par by the team of Anthony and Lisa Sutton, and the team of Bre Sprague and Denny Loveall.

It was a very successful event and we appreciate all the hard work that Kalastar and our volunteers put into the event. We are also grateful to all the sponsors and businesses who made donations to this year's Recovery classic.

Once again. our community and our donors have come through for the children! Roof Sit 2009 raised $71,062 to date and more will be coming in. To all our sponsors, donors, and volunteers --THANK YOU.

Because of you, these funds will be used to support children's services at Community Healing Centers. Our Children's Advocacy Center helped over 275 children in our community last year who were victims of child abuse. Our Infant and Parent Services programs provided support and services to over 700 families to strengthen these families and prevent child abuse and neglect.

Roof Sit Bowl-a-thon a BIG success

Community Healing Centers hosted the 2nd Annual Roof Sit Bowl-a-thon at Airway Lanes on March 21. As part of the Roof Sit Bowl-a-thon, the Kalamazoo Bowling Proprietors completed a week-long Roof Sit Sweeper Tournament with a roll-off tournament including 36 bowlers from Airway Lanes, Continental Lanes, Richland Lanes, Eastland Bowl Lanes, and Plainwell Lanes.

The five top bowlers from the Roll-off Tournament are pictured presenting The Community Healing Centers with a check on behalf of over 1,600 bowlers who participated in the Sweeper Tournament. The Kalamazoo Metro Bowling Association and the Kalamazoo Area Women's Bowling Association raised $3,247 which will be used to support programs that treat and prevent child abuse and neglect at The Community Healing Centers. The top five finishers are as follows: First Place - Chris Dechnik, Second Place - Greg Smurr, Third Place - Trudy Williams, Fourth Place - Jim Dechnik, and Fifth Place - Dick Durian.

Tournament Director, Terry Brockelbank, says "This event was an opportunity for our area league bowlers to participate and support programs that treat and prevent child abuse at the Community Healing Centers. The sweeper tournament was our way to give back to the community and support children who need our help and our attention. We were all happy to be able to help "strike out child abuse"."

Just a lane or two down from the Roll-off Tournament, community bowlers were laughing and cheering each other on as they joined together to also raise money to support programs that treat and prevent child abuse. The eight combined community teams raised just over $3,250 thanks to the support of community people that pledged their support. The day was filled with fun, with many door prizes that had been donated by local businesses and individuals.

Mandy Miller, a supporter of Roof Sit and dedicated volunteer says "The Roof Sit Bowl-a-thon is a great way for families and children to come together to raise money to strike-out child abuse. I know firsthand the affects of child abuse and I will do everything in my power to strike it out. Bowling is simply a fun way to throw the first strike."

All combined, the Roof Sit Bowl-a-Thon and Sweeper Tournament raised $6,497 and the money is still coming in. Anyone who would like to donate can call 269-343-1651 (ext. 154) or go to RoofSit.com and donate on-line. The bowl-a-thon was just the first of many events to take place in preparation for Roof Sit 2009, June 25-27 at Southland Mall.