During last year’s Swizzy’s Cause fundraiser, organizer Barbara Sweitzer was thanked by several people for raising awareness about mental illness in the community.
The second-annual benefit, scheduled for 4 to 10 p.m. Friday at Mystic Waters Resort in Limestone, will again raise mental health awareness while hosting activities such as a miniature golf tournament. Proceeds will be provided to the Olean Family YMCA to continue funding the recently hired care coordinator who helps people with mental illnesses.
The benefit is open to the public and is $20 for presale tickets for non-golfers purchased by Thursday, or $25 at the gate. The cost of four-person golf teams is $160 per team and includes golf, dinner, beverages and entertainment.
Sweitzer is organizing the annual benefit in honor of her late daughter, Jessica, who died of suicide at age 28 over two years ago. Jessica Sweitzer had been an advocate of the YMCA and often exercised at the Olean facility. “Swizzy” was her nickname.
At last year’s benefit, Barbara Sweitzer had hoped to raise $25,000, but instead garnered $34,000. The funds helped hire Patricia Blue as care coordinator at the YMCA. Blue’s position exists through a partnership between the YMCA and The ReHabilitation Center in Olean. Barbara Sweitzer serves as a director for the YMCA of the USA.
“More importantly, (the benefit) raised a whole lot of awareness about mental health,” Sweitzer recalled. “A number of people who (attended) said ‘I have a cousin, a sister, a brother or mother with mental illness.’ That was a lot of people saying ‘thanks’” for conducting the fundraiser.
YMCA CEO Jeff Alevy agreed. He said the resulting care coordinator position supports “people in the mental health community who come to the YMCA and integrate and exercise.”
Blue has helped several people experience the YMCA while supporting their mental health treatment plan and serving as a liaison for mental health services.
“The whole intent was to have a safe and nurturing atmosphere for those people to talk about how to feel better and have a purpose,” Alevy explained.
Barbara Sweitzer said she is pleased with the hiring of Blue and knows her late daughter would have been pleased, too.
“Jessica said to me on a number of occasions, ‘Mom, I don’t know how I would ever have been able to (deal with mental illness) without you. It’s too bad other people don’t have this.’”
The YMCA care coordinator has already helped people in the community, including a young man who attends the facility after being bedridden with mental illness, Barbara Sweitzer said. The man’s mother wrote and thanked Barbara Sweitzer because it was the first time in a long time her son had gotten out of bed six days in a row — to attend the YMCA under the guidance of Blue.
Blue said she has received several references from the community and is helping a wide range of people in different age groups and backgrounds. She can be contacted at the YMCA for more information on the program.
Barbara Sweitzer said other activities at the benefit will include music; a life-size Jenga game; yard Yahtzee; a scavenger hunt; cornhole games; basket raffles, a big raffle and 50/50s. A chicken barbecue dinner, snacks and beverages will be included in the golf entry.
In addition, a complimentary shuttle will be provided from the Parkwood Tavern on East State Street to Mystic Waters for those who prefer not to drive to the event.
(Contact reporter Kate Day Sager at kates_th@yahoo.com)
