Brownsville teens raising funds for mental health patients
Every Saturday morning, a group of high school students sell baked goods during the Brownsville Farmers Market on 6th Street.
The teens are part of Compassion RGV, which founder Natalia Del Castillo said aims to advance mental health awareness in the Rio Grande Valley. They’re raising money to help buy Christmas gifts for psychiatric patients at the Rio Grande State Center facility in Harlingen.
“Most of those people, they have really severe mental health issues… so we want to help keep that spirit in them,” Del Castillo said. “We are gonna raise as much money as we can to get 198 gifts.”
So far, the group has raised $300. Compassion RGV co-founder Alethia Garcia says their work blended the group’s two passions: baking and advocating for mental health.
The teens say they’re determined to raise $1,000.
More information on compassion RGV can be found on the group’s Instagram page. You can also find them and their sweets at the Brownsville Farmers Market, located at 1534 E. 6th St., every Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
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