About
Our Mission
The Bend Don’t Break Foundation inspires people of all ages to “bend don’t break” during their darkest hours by enriching lives and supporting communities through faith, love and music.
Our Story
Michael Helmly was a pillar in our community whose life was cut short. Bend Don’t Break is a non-profit named after an unfinished song that Michael was writing at the time of his death. Our mission is to complete the song by continuing to carry out his purpose in life which was focused on Faith, Love, and Music. We are partnering up with local charities whose missions align with Michael’s values. This year we will be partnering with Healing Hearts in addition to our annual blood drive and scholarship award.
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Read below to find out how our partnered charity is helping our community!
The Helmly family has been blessed to be surrounded by so much love and support during their darkest days and recognize that our community has a need for those that are less fortunate. The Healing Hearts Grief Program helps children ages 5–18 process the loss of a loved one. This program is designed to help children connect with peers and express emotions through therapeutic activities as they navigate the grief process. Currently Prisma offers monthly sessions for these services but because they recognize this is such a huge need in the community Bend Don't Break Foundation is proud to partner with them with funding and volunteer efforts to help this organization with its amazing work in our community.
Scholarship
The 2024 recipient of the Michael Helmly "Bend Don't Break" Award is Maurkevis Tyshawn Leverette, whose melody of hope and compassion has resonated through his school community for the past four years. Congratulations Maurkevis!