Give an Hour(TM) Honors National Volunteer Week with Call to Service

Mental Health Professionals Encouraged to Join Network to Provide Free
Counseling to Military Members, Veterans, and Their Loved Ones

WASHINGTON, April 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Give an Hour(TM) is honoring
National Volunteer Week (April 19-25, 2009) with a call to service to
licensed mental health professionals to join the Give an Hour(TM) network to
provide free counseling and other mental health services.

Give an Hour(TM) is a nonprofit organization that has created a national
network of licensed mental health providers who have agreed to donate one hour
of their time each week to provide free counseling and other mental health
services to military members, veterans, and their families who are
experiencing the psychological effects of the conflicts in Afghanistan and
Iraq. Currently, there are nearly 4,000 providers nationwide - in all 50
states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

"National Volunteer Week is a great opportunity to celebrate volunteerism and
to ask of ourselves, what can I contribute?" says Dr. Barbara Van Dahlen
Romberg, founder and president of Give an Hour(TM). "The idea behind our
organization is to provide a means for volunteers to do what they know how to
do. With approximately 400,000 licensed mental health professionals in the
United States, we know there is a great opportunity to make a tremendous
impact on the lives of so many of our returning troops and their families -
just by donating one hour a week," she explains.

Give an Hour(TM) providers offer assistance to individuals, couples, children,
and families. In addition to direct counseling, volunteers give presentations,
provide consultation, teach skills, offer support and, perhaps most important,
demystify mental health care for those who serve as well as for those who seek
to support our troops. Give an Hour(TM) has excellent relationships with the
VA, the DoD, and many veterans service organizations. In addition, Give an
Hour(TM) has the support of the major mental health associations in the United
States, including the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, the
American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association, the
National Association of Social Workers, the American Association of Marriage
and Family Therapists, and the Anxiety Disorders Association of America.

Although it is not required, Give an Hour(TM) offers people who receive
services the opportunity to give back, by matching them with volunteer
opportunities within their own communities.

Mental health professionals interested in joining Give an Hour(TM) can
complete an easy online form at www.giveanhour.org. In addition, Give an
Hour(TM) has volunteer needs in a variety of areas, including public
relations, marketing, fund development, and event planning.

SOURCE Give an Hour

Lauren Itzkowitz of Give an Hour, litzkowitz@giveanhour.org, +1-301-960-4082