Local businesses raise $1,800 to donate to Geneva Mental Health Board

GENEVA – Kelly and Alan Krause were inspired by the promotion of May as National Mental Health Awareness Month and, through their separate businesses, donated $1,800 to the Geneva Mental Health Board.

Suzy Shogren, president of the city’s mental health board, said she shared the message with her trainer, Kelly Krause, one of the owners of Energy Fitness and Wellness.

“She said, ‘Wait a minute. I want to be involved in that,’” Shogren said, speaking at the July 18 City Council meeting. “She said, ‘She explains more about what you’re doing.'”

As part of the mission, the mental health board provides education and advocacy, especially during May, to promote the message that “it’s okay to not be okay,” Shogren said.

“We are all in this together and we continue to talk and share with each other because we are here for each other,” Shogren said.

Kelly said that she wanted to promote it in her business, but she needed time to figure out how to do it.

So the next time Shogren went to train, he explained that they tie green ribbons and bows around town in May to promote mental health.

Kelly ordered some of the green ribbons and bows and decided to offer them to her customers so they can go home and tie them around a tree in their yard, Shogren said.

And because his business, located at 1055 W. Orchard Road, North Aurora, serves the area, he’ll help spread the word.

Kelly went home and shared her idea with her husband, Alan, owner of Clearwater Capital Partners, a wealth management firm.

They created a challenge to match five times what Kelly’s customers donate.

So Kelly presented a check for $300 and Al presented a check for $1,500 to the Geneva Board of Mental Health, which they collected in May.

“The donation will be part of our grant funding total in November when service providers…complete grant applications,” Shogren said.

About 14 service providers seek mental health funding to serve their clients, including the Ecker Center for Behavioral Health, Elderday, Suicide Prevention Services, TriCity Family Services and the Fox Valley Special Recreation Association. .

Kelly said her business doesn’t just focus on physical health, but emotional health as well.

“That’s why I call it Energy Fitness + Well-Being,” Kelly said. “I think of it more as a wellness center than a gym. We must take care of our whole being. And Al and I are at a point in our lives where giving back is really important and we’re able to do that in a variety of ways.”

And since opening the gym, the couple have pledged to a number of charities to support, he said.

“My members have come up with great ways to help and give back,” said Kelly. “We led the effort and they just stepped up and really did amazing things.”

Al said the firm also created Clearwater Capital Foundation to facilitate charitable donations.

“Each year we also do some different programs and sponsor different organizations,” Al said. “We feel from the success we’ve had at our private wealth management firm, giving back to the community, supporting different needs, is very important to U.S. This is a small way we can give back. … We are always looking for good causes with which to share our success.”