Food For Thought, Car Show Raise Funds For George Mason Center

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — George Mason Center for Psychological Services is hosting its sixth annual Food for Thought fundraising event on Oct. 3 to help pay for the many services it provides the Northern Virginia community.

"We're the main training clinic for the doctoral students in clinical psychology, and we serve the community," said Prof. Robyn Mehlenbeck, the center's director. "We're not the university counseling center. It's not for the Mason students. They have their own counseling center."

CPS offers a variety of in-person psychological services, including traditional therapy and testing, in an office building located at 10340 Democracy Lane in Fairfax City.

"We do a lot of testing for kids for learning disabilities, ADHD, and then psycho-social, because the schools really like our reports and will actually follow recommendations that we send," Mehlenbeck said.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CPS opened an emotional support line, where people can find help, both in English and Spanish, by calling 703-215-1898 from 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m., seven days a week.

"It's not a therapy service. It's support," Mehlenbeck said. "But for those who need more than that, we offer what we call our brief, three-session skills intervention. That is also open to folks in the community at very low cost."

A single session costs $25 or $75 if all three sessions are needed. Prince William County residents can access the sessions for free, according to Mehlenbeck.

"We actually initially set that program up for essential workers during COVID," she said. "Now it's open to the whole community." More information about all the services CPS offers is available online.

Since CPS is a nonprofit, it relies on sponsorships and fundraisers like Food for Thought for support. Leidos is hosting the Oct. 3 event, from 6-9 p.m., at its headquarters located at 1750 Presidents St. in Reston.

"We'll have lots of food, lots of drink," Mehlenbeck said. "We'll talk about what we do at the center, how we help particularly specialized populations. This year, we're really focusing on veterans, because we do a lot of work with veterans. We do a lot of work with youth, our teenagers and young adults. We have two funds, specifically for those areas in addition to our general fund that helps all of our low-income clients."

Food for Thought will also have a silent auction, with items like Washington Wizards tickets and vacation getaways that people to bid on. Those not able to attend the Oct. 3 event in person will still be able to submit bids online.

In addition to the Leidos-sponsored event, Capital Auto Club and Ferrari of Washington will be showing their support for CPS by showcasing their vehicles along Market Street in Reston from 5-8:30 p.m., on Oct. 3. The car show is free, open to the public, and does not require registration.

The deadline to purchase tickets for the Food for Thought event at Leidos headquarters is midnight on Sunday, Sept. 25. Information about purchasing tickets or sponsorship opportunities is available online.