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Naples, Fl – David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health (DLC), Collier County’s only comprehensive, not-for-profit behavioral health provider serving children, adults and families, will host Academy Award winning actress, producer, director, best-selling author and mental advocate, Goldie Hawn, as the keynote speaker of the Sound Minds™ 55^th Anniversary Celebration on Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 5 p.m. at The Ritz Carlton Golf Resort. Immediately following the reception and presentation, VIP ticket holders will enjoy a private VIP dinner at 7:30 p.m. with an intimate opportunity to meet Hawn.

Guests are invited to take a step back in time to view the history and accomplishments of DLC throughout the last 55 years and see the impact and change that can happen when the community comes together.

Sound Minds is being presented by Education Sponsor Naples Children & Education Foundation and DLC Founder Polly Keller will serve as Honorary Chairman.

Goldie Hawn struggled with anxiety and panic attacks when she was thrust into fame in her early 20s. She eventually sought medical help to cope with her anxiety and her intention to be happy. Her mental health journey and concerns about the increases in school violence, youth depression, and suicide inspired her to eventually start an organization called MindUP™, which aims to help kids better understand their thoughts and feelings. She went on to author a best-selling book, 10 Mindful Minutes, to offer guidance on raising healthy, joyful, and resilient children.

In her keynote address, Hawn will share insights about her personal journey to wellness and happiness and her life’s purpose to create innovative solutions to help children thrive.

Sadly, mental illness, suicide, and addiction – especially for our youth and young adults – is more prevalent now more than ever. Sound Minds is DLC’s signature fundraiser and a critical source of funding for its life-saving and life-changing services, which have drastically increased in demand year over year.

Hearing from someone with lived experience who has found hope, help, and purpose in helping others find their way, is the proven format for the Sound Minds fundraiser, now in its 10^th year. Past speakers have included a Columbine shooting survivor, national experts, actors, and legislators who have been impacted personally by behavioral health challenges.

DLC Founder to Serve as Honorary Chair

There is no better local advocate to serve as the 55^th Anniversary Sound Minds Honorary Chair than DLC founder and self-proclaimed professional volunteer Polly Keller. Through Keller’s vision and hard work, DLC, then known as the Collier County Mental Health Clinic, was the first mental health and substance use clinic in Collier County. Keller secured financial support from Collier County, the state, and schools to open the clinic with three staff members, including Naples’ first psychiatrist.

Keller later founded the David Lawrence Foundation, which was the first Foundation in the country that’s purpose was to help a publicly funded community mental health center through private fundraising. Now, 55 years later, DLC has more than 300 employees and has expanded to an 8-acre main campus, two satellite locations and operates 24 affordable housing units and an 8-bed recovery residence. With a new multimillion dollar central receiving facility and innovative new initiatives for brain health planned, DLC is poised to continue to meet the behavioral health needs of the growing SWFL population for the next 55 years through the continued support of the community.

As Honorary Chair, Polly Keller hopes to increase awareness about these common issues and encourage Collier County to come together to make a difference by helping address access to behavioral health.

“Delivering quality mental health services to those in need, regardless of their ability to pay, has been a primary concern all my life,” said Keller. “To supplement inadequate governmental funding is the reason we fundraise.”

As the daughter of a psychiatrist who ran a state mental hospital, Keller was exposed from a very young age to those struggling with mental illness. And now, due primarily to her volunteer efforts a half century ago and the steadfast support of thousands of Neapolitans along the way, DLC now stands as the premier mental health and addiction treatment facility in Collier County. Each year, it touches the lives of 9,000 children, adolescents, and adults through 314,000 treatment sessions.

“Being an advocate and volunteer with DLC for 55 years, I see where we’ve been and where we need to go,” said Keller. “I see this year’s Sound Minds fundraiser as not only an educational event, but a celebratory one to bring people in the community from all different positions and situations together to celebrate DLC and its accomplishments. By supporting Sound Minds, those attending will lend support to the yet unreached goals of DLC and help them continue to address the great and growing need for behavioral healthcare for all in need in our community for next 55 years.”

Tickets and Information

The cost to attend is $400 per person. Funds raised through the proceeds from Sound Minds will improve access to DLC’s innovative prevention, intervention, treatment and education services.

For ticket and sponsorship information, visit DLCSoundMinds.org or contact DLC at 239-354-1419 or donorcare@DLCenters.org .

Sponsors

Sound Minds sponsors to date include The Wellington Group at Morgan Stanley. Community mental health partners include Park Royal Behavioral Health Services, PBS Contractors, Brown and Brown Insurance and Moorings Park.

More About Goldie Hawn’s Mental Health Advocacy

Goldie Hawn has lived with and loved her partner Kurt Russell for 30 years and has four grown children, Oliver and Kate Hudson, Wyatt Russell and Boston Russell. They have been blessed with seven grandchildren. Hawn believes “children light the path to joy” and dedicated much of her life’s work to creating innovative solutions to help children thrive.

Alarmed by increases in school violence, youth depression and suicide, and the persistent failure of the education system to help children cope with increasingly stressful lives, Hawn started her Foundation in 2003, applying cutting edge scientific research to create education programs that support the social and emotional development of children.

Working with leading neuroscientists, educators, psychologists and researchers, the Foundation developed MindUP™, an evidence-based curriculum and teaching model for grades K-12 that provide tools to help children self-regulate and understand their own emotions, moods and behaviors; reduce stress and anxiety; sharpen concentration; increase empathy; and improve academic performance.

MindUP™ is a brain-based program now serving over six million children in 48 countries. The skills, positive psychology and mindful practices being taught help stabilize children’s ability to learn, improving their emotional development and resilience to face the challenges of our world.

Hawn also authored two best-selling books, her 2005 memoir, A Lotus Grows in the Mud, where she shares intimately about her spiritual journey toward enlightenment including the challenges of love, anger and fear and the importance of compassion and integrity; and in 2011, 10 Mindful Minutes, offering guidance on raising healthy, joyful and resilient children. In 2015, Hawn released 10 Mindful Minutes: A Journal, a practical application to her last book, offering prompts and exercises to enhance the reader’s daily life through mindfulness practice.

About David Lawrence Centers

Southwest Florida nonprofit David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health (DLC) is a national leader providing compassionate, advanced, and exceptional mental health, substance use, and integrated healthcare solutions, available for children, adolescents and adults. DLC’s innovative treatment includes inpatient, outpatient, residential, and community-based services – a comprehensive system of care funded by community and government support. Each year, DLC serves 9,000 people through over 314,000 treatment sessions. To learn more, please call 239-455-8500 or visit www.DLCenters.org.