PRESS RELEASE

Azalea Charities Donates Games to
Soldiers Being Treated at Walter Reed for
Acute Mental Health Conditions

Prince William County, VA, April 30, 2009 - Azalea Charities has donated games to the patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center’s Ward 54, where soldiers suffering from acute mental health conditions are treated.

The games, including Sorry, Battleship, Jenga, Monopoly, Clue, Risk, Taboo, Game of Life, Scattegories and many more, help the patients to learn problem-solving and coping mechanisms in therapeutic recreation groups and during their leisure time.

“Patients enjoy the socialization and general fun of games they might have played while younger,” says Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, Jennifer Pratt, who works with the Ward 54 patients. “The games help them remember happier times, build newer memories and learn ways to connect in positive means with family members and friends after discharge,”

“When the patients engage in various leisure activities offered, they are more equipped to face stressors and identify their triggers that may cause regression in mood, increase in harmful thoughts and restlessness,” says Pratt. “The staff of Ward 54 is grateful for the current donations and assistance in the past and we look forward to future connections with Azalea Charities.”

Azalea Charities has additional plans to provide new basketball and exercise equipment to Ward 54. Donations to the soldiers in Ward 54 are part of Azalea Charities’ Aid for Wounded Warriors program. Azalea Charities provides funding for the purchase of needed comfort items, which are disbursed across the country through the American Red Cross to Military Medical Centers, through volunteer services programs to the VA Medical Centers and to Fisher House rehabilitation facilities. In addition, Azalea Charities provided financial support to CrisisLink in Arlington, Virginia, for the U.S. Army's Wounded Soldier and Family Hotline (1-800-984-8523), which opened in 2008.

About Azalea Charities
Azalea Charities is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, incorporated in 2000 and staffed entirely by volunteers who donate their time, talent and money. Since its inception in June 2004, Azalea Charities’ Aid for Wounded Warriors program has distributed more than $500,000 in funding, reaching out to vets from as far back as World War II.

Azalea Charities raises funds for Aid to Wounded Warriors and its community charities through membership fees, private donations and sponsorship of special events such as the Marine Corps Marathon and the Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon, which will beheld in Fredericksburg on May 17. Beyond minimal expenses, all the funds they raise go to their charitable causes.
Contributions may be made online at www.azaleacharities.org.

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For more information, contact:
Frank Lasch, Chairman
Azalea Charities, Inc.
703-670-5238
azaleacharities@aol.com