Alan Halliburton, Amy McCloskey and Vanita Halliburton, Grant Halliburton Foundation co-founders. Photo courtesy of Simon Luna.

Grant Halliburton Foundation held its 14th annual Hope Party on Friday, Nov. 17 at the Statler Hotel to raise funds for youth mental health and suicide prevention.

In 2016, the Grant Halliburton Foundation was established in response to Dallas teen, Grant Halliburton who had mental illness and bipolar disorder for several years before his suicide at the age of 19. For over the last 15 years, the Foundation works to help families and young people recognize the signs of mental illness through education, collaboration, conferences, encouragement, and helpful information.

Since its start, the Foundation has provided education and training to more than 325,00 students, educators, parents and professionals.

The event was attended by 2023 Hope Party co-chairs, Karen Goetting and Camille Owens. The night ended with music from The Grooveline.

“Special thanks to our presenting sponsor, Christopher Barkley Foundation and all the sponsors who contributed to this event’s success,” Goetting said. “We also need to recognize the co-founders of Grant Halliburton Foundation, Vanita Halliburton, Alan Halliburton and Amy Halliburton McCloskey. Through their loss, they have given back to North Texans in so many ways. They have given hope to those of us who have been touched by mental health struggles or suicide.”

More than 500 supporters attended the fundraiser event and raised nearly $400,000 through sponsorships, tickets, live and silent auctions. Proceeds from the event support the foundation’s endeavor to bring awareness to mental health for North Texas youths and their families.

This year, Grant Halliburton Foundation added a Hispanic outreach to its team to expand its impact and message. The team kicked off its first Spanish-language Coffee Days group at Molina High School in South Dallas. They also are making about 20 school presentations in Spanish to share with more than 300 students. They have also attended more than 50 Hispanic outreach events in the community.

“To date, we’ve trained more than 325,000 people on mental health and suicide prevention,” Grant Halliburton Foundation president and Preston Hollow neighbor, Kevin Hall said. “We’ve grown our Thrive education strategy from 119 schools a year ago to over 170 today.”

Along with the Grace Loncar Foundation, they co-hosted the second annual Texas Hope Squad Conference with more than 1,500 attendees. Hope Squads are groups of students trained to watch for at-risk peers, provide friendship, identify warning signs and seek help from adults.

“Whatever you give will help Grant Halliburton Foundation move forward as we work to keep young people happy, healthy and here,” Hall said.