Westmont Family Counseling Ministries was founded 30 years ago by David Walker, the associate pastor of the Westmont Presbyterian Church, as a mission program. The pastor’s idea was simple: to provide counseling services to people who needed it, beyond what he was able to provide as a clergyperson. The program quickly expanded and became a non-profit organization in its own right. Today WFCM provides more than 3,000 counseling hours each year to people throughout our region. All people, regardless of background or beliefs, are welcome – and we provide counseling to those who are unable to afford it. That’s why we need your help.

Why hold a fundraising dinner

One of the things that makes WFCM different is that we offer a sliding scale fee schedule based on family or personal income for those who are unable to afford our services. While we accept most health insurance plans, not all plans provide coverage for services related to mental health – and there are many people in our region who are underinsured or have no insurance at all.

Thus, WFCM has a need to raise funds to help cover the cost of providing these services. We receive donations year-round from people who support our mission, and we participate in fundraising initiatives like the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community. But our dinner is the biggest fundraising initiative for the year.

Every $60 donated provides a full hour of counseling to someone in need. Every donation, large or small, makes an impact.

About this year’s event

As in years past, the dinner will be at Sunnehanna Country Club in mid-fall. This year’s date is Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 5:30 pm, and our master of ceremonies is Tim Rigby of WJAC. In keeping with this year’s theme, our presentation is “The Memory Switch” by Matthew Goerke. Invitations have been sent to past supporters of WFCM and this event, but everyone is welcome to attend.

About this year’s speaker

We are especially excited about this year’s speaker, Matthew Goerke, who is one of America’s leading experts in the field of memory development. He has shared “The Memory Switch” with thousands of people from all walks of life, demonstrating that there’s no such thing as a bad memory – just an untrained one – and that you can in fact train your memory.

Our lives and careers demand we remember a wealth of information, from names and faces to presentations. The techniques in The Memory Switch will show you how to retain key pieces of information, helping you make presentations without notes, boosting your confidence, and even share information with others in a way that boosts their retention of the material.

Goerke has worked with a wide variety of well-known speakers, including Zig Ziglar, Ed Forman, Vic Conant, and Tony Robbins. He has trained executives from major national companies, federal agencies, and thousands of teachers at all academic levels. But anyone can benefit from The Memory Switch – students, professionals, and senior citizens.

How you can help

You can be part of this event by sponsoring or attending. Sponsor levels are as follows:

  • Platinum, $1000: 8 dinner tickets, full page ad in program, web link
  • Gold, $750: 4 dinner tickets, ½ page program ad
  • Silver, $500: 2 dinner tickets, ¼ page ad
  • Bronze, $250: 2 dinner tickets, recognition in program

Individual dinner tickets are $50. Donations of any size are welcome, even if you are unable to attend. Invitations and reservation forms have been sent, but if you did not receive one, you can download it in PDF format here — or just give us a call at (814) 536-0798..

As always, WFCM is grateful for your support, and we look forward to “30 Years of Memories” on October 3!