Texas Wine Auction Foundation and Create Healthy partner on a $390,000 commitment to keep licensed clinical social workers at Fredericksburg Middle School and Fredericksburg High School through 2029
August 24, 2026 (Fredericksburg, TX) — As Fredericksburg students head back to class this August, two familiar kinds of support will be waiting for them: educators focused on their learning and licensed clinical social workers focused on their mental and emotional well-being. Through a $390,000, three-year commitment, Texas Wine Auction Foundation and Create Healthy are helping Fredericksburg ISD maintain dedicated licensed clinical social workers at Fredericksburg Middle School and Fredericksburg High School through 2029.
According to the FISD Education Foundation, Gillespie County’s income gap creates very different realities for local families: the lowest 20% earn approximately $18,227, while the highest 20% earn about $308,541. At Fredericksburg Middle School, 63.3% of students are economically disadvantaged, and its social worker documented more than 300 student interactions during the school year. At Fredericksburg High School, a social worker recorded 258 visits with 42 students, helping address challenges ranging from anxiety and peer relationships to food insecurity and family stress.
The licensed clinical social workers provide students with daily access to counseling, trauma support and crisis intervention, including suicide-prevention services. Keeping those positions in the schools helps make support part of the students’ everyday environment, closer to the classroom, easier to reach and available when it is needed most.
“We talk a lot about building a healthier community, but this is what that looks like in real life: making sure a student has someone to turn to on a hard day, and making sure that support doesn’t disappear,” said Valerie Elkins, Co-Founder of Texas Wine Auction Foundation. “Our donors, winery partners and supporters made it possible for us to make a three-year commitment alongside Create Healthy, and I can’t think of a more meaningful investment than investing in our youth.”
Create Healthy’s investment in the partnership reflects its broader work to improve health and wellness across the Hill Country, while Texas Wine Auction Foundation continues to direct the generosity of the Texas wine community toward programs that strengthen the communities surrounding the industry. Together, the organizations are helping provide FISD Education Foundation with something especially valuable in student mental health care: time, stability and consistent access.
“An investment in our students is an investment in our future,” said Jayne Pope, RN, MBA, president and CEO, Create Healthy. “Helping our children and adolescents to be emotionally healthy and resilient helps them stay in school and pursue their dreams. It is one of the most meaningful ways we can invest in the long-term health and well-being of individuals and of the communities we all call home.”
The partnership is about more than placing a professional on each campus. It is about continuity. The three-year funding period carries the program through 2029, giving FISD Education Foundation continued support for these campus-based positions across multiple school years. A student who begins receiving support during a difficult season can continue to have access to care as the school year moves forward, while families and school staff know a trained mental health professional is available on campus when concerns arise. For students, that can mean knowing where to turn when school, family life, relationships, grief, anxiety or other challenges become difficult to manage alone.
Texas Wine Auction Foundation and Create Healthy see the partnership as a reminder that community impact can begin in unexpected places. Funds raised through the celebration of Texas wine can travel well beyond an event, into local schools, into student support systems and into resources designed to remain available year after year.
About Texas Wine Auction Foundation
Texas Wine Auction Foundation funds programs that promote healthy communities and strengthen a sustainable future for Texas wines. Through fundraising events, grants and strategic partnerships, the Foundation supports mental wellness, community health and initiatives that advance the Texas wine industry. Learn more at texaswineauction.com.
About Create Healthy
Create Healthy is on a mission to invest in the health and wellness of the Hill Country and empower its communities to build a healthy future. Create Healthy’s vision is a Hill Country where all can contribute and thrive. Led by Jayne Pope, the foundation is overseen by a volunteer board of directors. More at CreateHealthy.org.
