Drew Robinson. Courtesy photo
Drew Robinson, former Major League Baseball player and current mental health advocate for the San Francisco Giants, will headline Grant Halliburton‘s 16th annual Beacon of Hope Community Luncheon on Tuesday, March 25, at the Omni Dallas Hotel. Joining him as moderator is Eric Nadel, voice of the Texas Rangers and a mental health advocate.
In 2020, Robinson survived a suicide attempt, resulting in a new-found purpose of helping others and destigmatizing mental health. After playing 12 seasons of professional baseball, Robinson retired following the 2021 season to pursue a full-time role as a mental health advocate, the first of its kind in MLB. Leveraging his tagline, Strength Isn’t Always Physical, Robinson is dedicated to sharing his journey and showcasing vulnerability to prevent suicide and promote mental health care.
Robinson stated in a press release, “With many youth and young adults facing mental health challenges, it’s important that these issues are openly discussed and addressed. While it’s not easy to share my story, I hope to empower those struggling to speak up, ask for support, and remind them that they are not alone.
The luncheon supports the foundation’s work to provide education, resources and support for children, teen and young adult mental health. Event sponsorships and underwriting range from $600 to $25,000. Individual tickets go on sale in February for $250. To learn more and to purchase a sponsorship or underwriting opportunity, visit GrantHalliburton.org/boh.
Chris and Brent Bolding are the 2025 Beacon of Hope Community Luncheon co-chairs. The luncheon vice chairs are Amy and Michael Roseman. The founding luncheon chair is Barb Farmer.
Since 2006, the foundation has provided mental health education, training and support to nearly 350,000 students, educators, parents and professionals, thanks to funds raised from the Beacon of Hope Luncheon.
With the help of a $120,000 grant from Metrocrest Hospital Authority, Texas A&M University College of Dentistry in Dallas offers an oral health program in Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District for the first time. The grant also supports the college’s ongoing dental hygiene education and cavity prevention information distribution in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, a press release stated.
Parents of nearly 100 students at Sheffield Elementary School in Dallas consented for third graders and some second graders to be screened for dental problems by Texas A&M’s dental students during this school year. Through Empowering Smiles Oral Health Initiative Program, dental students and dental hygiene students will make four visits to Sheffield before June, assessing students’ dental needs and hosting sealant clinics. Two visits were in the first semester of the school year.
Similar screenings and fluoride varnish clinics are scheduled or have occurred this school year at McWhorter Elementary School and McKamy Elementary School, both in Dallas, and McLaughlin Strickland Elementary School and Blair Elementary School, both in Farmers Branch. About 400 students at McLaughlin Strickland, ranging from kindergartners to fifth graders, were scheduled for initial screenings and fluoride applications on Feb. 12 in what the dental team calls a Blast Day.
Dr. Amal Noureldin, a professor and director of the predoctoral program the college’s public health sciences department, stated the MHA grant allows the college to offer C-FBISD parents and students similar screenings and care to what the dental students and dental hygiene students provide at schools in Dallas independent School District, Garland Independent School District, Richardson Independent School District and Irving Independent School District.
While the MHA grant is only for one year, feedback is positive. The grant could be renewed, the press release stated.
Before seeing the students, the dental team, which includes Noureldin and Dr. Luz “Lucy” Mendoza, program portfolio manager in the college’s public health department, met with principals and school nurses and developed informational materials in English, Spanish and Arabic to be distributed to parents. The program is offered at no charge.
Basic preventive care, including screening, fluoride treatment and sealants, costs about $150 to $300 per child in the competitive marketplace, Mendoza stated in the release. The college’s program aims to help decrease both children’s school absences and parents’ time off work for dentist appointments.