Counseling Scholarship Funds
Four Rivers counseling is deeply connected to the heart of the Martinsville-Henry County community, and we were deeply impacted by the sudden loss of teenagers Angelina Moreton Cobbler and Ian Patrick Wright during Thanksgiving week 2020.. In an effort to help heal the community from this devastating loss and provide enhanced services for children, tweens and teens, Four Rivers Counseling owner Jenny Yates partnered with the mothers of Angelina (Sarah Moorefield) and Ian (Pam Wright) to establish two counseling scholarships in their memories.
These scholarships help support youth clients who are seeking 4RC clinical services but are not able to afford expensive co-pays.
In addition to the Angelina Moreton Cobbler and Ian Patrick Wright Scholarships, Four Rivers launched the Mimi Vallentine Counseling Scholarship in 2023 thanks to a private donation. This scholarships covers co-pays of women from all walks of life and ages who face social, political or economic barriers to counseling.
Four Rivers accepts donations to support these scholarships and also fundraises with events such as the Memorial Walk and t-shirt sale. Those interested in contributing should contact Jenny at fourriverscounseling@gmail.com.
The Angelina Moreton Cobbler Scholarship
The first counseling scholarship established at 4RC was the Angelina Moreton Cobbler Scholarship. Angelina’s mother, Sarah Moorefield, launched the scholarship with the aim to give back and donate all funds raised from her daughter’s Memorial Walk and T-Shirt sale held in Angelina’s honor with the YMCA’s Harvest Moon walk on September 9, 2022.
To access the Angelina Moreton Cobbler Scholarship fund, each client and their family must complete an application and share how they might reflect some of Angelina’s core values.
According to Sarah Moorefield, Angelina was “very caring, concerned about older people and special needs people. Angelina loved pregnant women and babies. She was very driven. She wanted all As in every subject and worked very hard to make them. She was also very mature for her age. Angelina enjoyed being outside, collected rocks, took pictures of the outdoors or when on hikes. She also wanted to attend the Nursing Program at Patrick and Henry Community College.”
Angelina’s Memorial Walk has raised a total of $1,261.58. To date, Angelina’s Scholarship fund has paid out a total of $1,270.40 in copays, or 26 combined Individual and Family sessions. This Scholarship also paid $331.60 for commemorative wristbands for Angelina’s graduating Class of 2023.
The Ian Wright Counseling Scholarship
In an effort to help memorialize and honor Ian Patrick Wright, an avid soccer player for the PYSL Soccer League at the Smith River Sports Complex, his mom, Pam Wright, and Four Rivers Counseling owner Jenny Yates collaborated to plant an Ian Wright Memorial Tree, so that he may be visited and remembered by family and friends at the Sports Complex, where he loved to play and support his teammates. A small private Ian Wright Memorial Tree Service was provided for immediate family by Jenny and 4RC, who donated and planted a young, white dogwood tree in Ian’s honor, in August, 2022.
The Ian Wright Counseling Scholarship was established by Pam Wright and 4RC, to honor the life of Ian Wright, reflective of his positive values and love for family and friends. Ian has been
described by family and friends as: “Strong faith, determined, hardworking, strong, comforter, encourager, humble, thankful, respectful, thoughtful, generous, compassionate, forgiving, loving, kind, fun, jokester, intelligent, studious, responsible. Funny, caring, personable, athletic, smart, imaginative, adept, stylish and sarcastic/clever.”
To access the Ian Wright Scholarship, applicants and their families must describe how the applicant might also reflect Ian’s core values and what they hope to gain from treatment.
To date, the Ian Wright Scholarship raised a total of $1,400 dollars from Anonymous Angel Donors and several community based education workshops provided by 4RC. The Ian Wright Scholarship has paid out $850 towards 20 copays including Individual and Family Sessions, and sponsored a 4RC Collaborative suicide and prevention workshop, in honor of Suicide Prevention Month.
The Mimi Vallentine Scholarship Fund
The same year Four Rivers Counseling owner Jenny Yates was building her small business, she quietly bore a private burden that her mother, Mimi Vallentine, was dying. During her last days, her mom often asked Jenny about her StartUp classes and how her business was going. Jenny’s mom passed away approximately 30 days after 4RC’s doors were opened.
In her mother’s honor, Jenny established The Mimi Vallentine Counseling Scholarship for women in need. A private donation of $500 made its launch possible, and all proceeds from the scholarship cover co-pays of women of all walks of life and ages, facing social, political and economic barriers to counseling.
Jenny describes her mother as, “a ‘faithful servant,’ a deeply spiritual woman; devoted mother, daughter, grandmother, sister, friend, neighbor, church member, she loved all that were in her life. Mimi believed in being kind to everyone, to be a peacemaker. She showed me how to love, be patient with, and kind to children.”
Mimi always considered herself a ‘Steel Magnolia,’ a strong woman born and raised in the lowcountry of South Carolina. She was a devoted special needs advocate for her youngest child, Jeff, whom Jenny helped raise, and with whom she continues to have a strong bond. One of her mom’s favorite sayings remained “when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.”
To access the Mimi Vallentine Scholarship, applicants and their families must describe how the applicant might also reflect Mimi’s core values and what they hope to gain from treatment.
To date, the Mimi Vallentine Scholarship Fund provided 19 co-pays and $603.79 to Scholarship recipients, to help women in need with their counseling co-pays.
The Four Rivers Counseling Scholarship Fund
Due to the strong, grass-roots community based support of these 3 Counseling Scholarships, on August 15 2023, 4RC created its first non-profit, 501C-3. This initiative safeguards donations and fosters public transparency to encourage “angel” donors to feel confident about their donations to help children, teens and select individuals attend counseling when co-pays are a barrier.
4RC continues to raise funds by offering free, donation-based, community-education workshops addressing topics including suicide prevention and awareness, positive mind and body, self-care, grief and loss.
Other local citizens have personally taken on projects to help raise funds. A volunteer single-handedly raised $265 towards the scholarship fund through baking high-end cakes in her kitchen, with 100% of the proceeds going towards the Scholarship Fund.
In October, 2023, 4RC also held its first community Mental Health Walk, “Fighting Battles You Can’t See,” and t-shirt Sale, during which 25 community members participated, and $900 was raised.
To date, the 4RC Scholarship Fundraising has raised $1,420 raised so far and has established the goal of raising $3K for this fundraising year (exceeding $2K from last year). Several child, tween, teen and select individuals continue to access these funds that would otherwise create a barrier to accessing counseling services and completing necessary treatment.