In rural communities, where specialized services can be difficult to access, organizations like the Turtle Wing Foundation step in to bridge critical gaps. For families navigating learning challenges, emotional support is just as important as academic assistance—and access to counseling can be life-changing.
Thanks to support from the Greater Fayette Community Foundation’s Red Door Fund for Mental Health, Turtle Wing Foundation has expanded access to affordable mental health services, helping young people and their families get the support they deserve.
How Turtle Wing Foundation Helped Strengthen Local Capacity Through Counseling Scholarships
As a rural resource hub for individuals with learning challenges, Turtle Wing Foundation is committed to connecting families with the providers and services they need to succeed. Recognizing that emotional well-being is deeply intertwined with academic progress, Turtle Wing set out to expand access to therapy and counseling services through a targeted scholarship program.
With a $5,000 grant from the Red Door Fund, Turtle Wing Foundation offered $10,200 in counseling scholarships for the year, making individual and group therapy more affordable for teens and their families. In a region where mental health providers are limited, the ability to remove financial barriers to care has been transformative.
Over the course of the year, the foundation strategically shifted more funding toward group therapy sessions for teens and adolescents, responding to an urgent and growing need. This flexibility allowed them to reach more young people at once and ensure that essential support didn’t fall through the cracks.
How the Grant Was Put to Work
The Red Door funding allowed Turtle Wing Foundation to:
- Provide direct support to 15 individuals through counseling scholarships.
- Expand group therapy offerings, addressing the broader need for emotional support among teens and adolescents.
- Adapt to real-time community needs by listening to providers and families, ensuring the scholarship program remained responsive and impactful.
Throughout the program, Turtle Wing collected family testimonials and provider feedback to track overall impact while respecting participant privacy. This combination of qualitative insight and participation tracking gave the foundation a clear view of the real-world difference they were making.
Measurable Impact and Lessons for the Future
The scholarship program quickly proved that emotional support is a lifeline. Families shared stories of resilience, transformation, and new beginnings:
“Inclusivity, allowing a light to be shown on people, kids in the area who are so bright and loved but usually not spotlighted. Turtle Wing brings community, brings support, and brings love. Turtle Wing shows us understanding and hope for these kid’s futures and shows the children the kindness others have.” This quote was shared by Jessica Ingram, a therapist speaking on the foundation’s impact.
One mother, whose child received counseling services, described it as a turning point for her entire family:
“Me being okay in all forms has helped me help my family with the transition and acceptance of having a child with developmental delays. Receiving counseling has been a complete game changer in this stage of life and I am so grateful to be a part of this with my son and family.”
While staffing shortages and limited provider availability remain ongoing challenges in rural areas, Turtle Wing’s ability to adjust—based on community and provider input—was key to the project’s success. Rather than sticking rigidly to a pre-set plan, they allowed the voices of those being served to guide how the funding was used.
As Turtle Wing looks ahead, they will continue working closely with providers and families to meet the evolving mental health needs of rural youth—one connection, one counseling session, and one family at a time.
Why This Matters
For organizations like Turtle Wing Foundation, responsive funding matters. Through the Red Door Fund, the Greater Fayette Community Foundation empowers community-led initiatives to expand their reach, grow their impact, and meet local needs.
GFCF’s model helps small organizations and grassroots efforts navigate funding challenges without getting bogged down by unnecessary administrative hurdles. By supporting initiatives like Turtle Wing’s counseling scholarships, GFCF helps strengthen the nonprofit ecosystem—and most importantly, strengthens the fabric of rural communities.
At GFCF, we believe that rural mental health deserves more than acknowledgment. It deserves investment. It deserves innovation. And it deserves champions like Turtle Wing Foundation, who are making a tangible difference every day.
Want to help expand access to rural mental health services?
Learn more about the Red Door Fund and how you can get involved.
