William R., 68, Birmingham, AL

William Ruff, a resident of Birmingham, Alabama, recently had his wish for a desktop computer granted, thanks to our Alabama chapter under the direction of Jim Elrod. Ruff, 68, has two passions in life: creating music and his involvement in the local chapter of National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Ruff is very involved in NAMI as a peer specialist and volunteer fundraiser. He is very passionate about ensuring that people with mental illness receive excellent care as well as support in the community. The computer will enable him to put in more hours as a volunteer fundraiser for NAMI. In addition, Ruff enjoys writing music and lyrics. He often collaborates with a friend in Floriday who also creates music and lyrics. The computer will allow the two of them to continue to develop/create together through the internet, face time and skype. Chapter director Jim Elrod delivered the new desktop computer to Ruff on October 11, 2016.