AUSTIN, Texas —
The Austin nonprofit Flatwater Foundation is looking to expand its reach to connect people impacted by cancer with mental health services.
In September, the nonprofit held its 13th annual 21-mile paddleboard fundraiser, "Dam That Cancer," where the group paddleboards from Mansfield Dam to Tom Miller Dam on Lake Austin.
Mark Garza, Flatwater Foundation's founder, started the organization after his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2009. Garza sought out mental health services for himself, saw how difficult it could be and wanted to make it easier for others.
"Really, a lot of energy was thrown into this cause, into this mission to help more and more lives, to change the way Central Texas deals with a cancer diagnosis," Garza said. "Flatwater Foundation comes from this notion of our organization and our mission to bring families back to what we call their calm, their serenity, their flat water."
Garza and his father were the founding members of the nonprofit that help others with flat water therapy to assist those struggling with their mental health. A few years after creating the nonprofit, Garza's father died.
"After a struggle of figuring out who to go to or what to do and how much it costs, I really knew I needed to find a better way so that those that are going through a diagnosis, like a cancer diagnosis, can get the care that they deserve," Garza said.
The paddle boarding event began before the nonprofit was officially founded. The event has become its biggest fundraiser every year, which also benefits participants' mental health, according to Garza.
"While we are a cancer organization that is providing care for families touched by cancer, we also, at Flatwater, want to inspire anybody and everybody to remember the power of taking care of your mind, through activity, through sport," Garza said.
That's something that others who have used Flatwater's resources agree with.
"If I'm feeling like I need to disengage or whatever thoughts, like negative thoughts [that] I'm engaged [in], I just come here to Lady Bird and go for a walk, and I enjoy it," Brenda Garza said.
Brenda Garza, who's not related to Mark Garza, is a breast cancer survivor. She used Flatwater Foundation to connect to a therapist after moving to Austin.
"It was life changing and it was not only life changing, it was it saved me and saved me from the craziness, from all of the challenges that that is to be a cancer survivor with a new career, a new life, and a new city," Brenda Garza said.
Now, Mark Garza is working to expand the nonprofit's services to be able to help even more people just like Brenda Garza. This year, Flatwater Foundation has increased its network of mental health professionals and is looking to grow even more.
"It means everything to be able to share the message, not just the people that we help financially, but just to share that message of how important it is to take care of your mind," Mark Garza said.
Flatwater Foundation has hired mental health professional Becky Morales, LCSW-S, to help guide the delivery of mental health services and grow its network of counselors. The organization is also looking to go from 120 therapists to more than 200 in 2023.
Right now, the foundation covers 100% of the cost for those who can't afford it. It wants to grow and provide assistance to those that may not need financial help but who are going through a hard time.