The official results are in, the envelope please, and the winner is…. Optimae LifeServices! This year NAMI has honored Optimae with not one, but two awards for our participation with their annual "NAMI Walks" event.

Optimae won first place for both the number of participants and for our enthusiasm. Go Team Hope! Our "trophies" (two handmade mugs) are proudly displayed in the Polk County Community Services building.

It was a cold and drizzly Saturday as close to 200 friends, colleagues, customers and even the family pets gathered to walk for the third year in the annual "NAMI Walks" event in Des Moines. This year on October 3rd at Waterworks Park, Team Hope had its largest attendance ever.

Optimae LifeServices and Advanced Therapy Solutions were thrilled to

raise money and walk for the Na-tional Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), as it helps to raise aware-ness about mental illness and fund-ing for education and supportive programs.

This is the third year Optimae/ResCare has participated in this event and this is the second year we have been honored with an award. Last year ResCare and Advanced Therapy Solutions placed second for the size of our team.

To date this fantastic and fun, albeit chilly, event has raised over $90,000 for these programs that raise awareness and provide education about mental illness.

In addition to raising money and getting up early to walk 3 miles, Optimae LifeServices employees also donated their brute strength and time to assist NAMI in trans-porting materials to and from the

walk site and also helping with the set-up and tear-down of the event.

Other Central Iowa Optimae employees worked hard to make this possible, including The Hope Center who sold cans of soda to raise money and organized the picnic after the walk. Thank you All for being "At Your Side. On Your Side."