BLACKSBURG -- A former Hokie football player is trying to make a difference off the field.

Radford native Tommy Edwards, who played for Virginia Tech from 1992 to 1994, has a goal to raise $2 million by April 2009 for The Heart of Virginia Foundation, which will in turn donate the money to mental health services to develop, expand and coordinate programs that promote physical and mental health.

After the April 16 shootings at Virginia Tech, Edwards, who said he has struggled with mental illness, left his home and business in San Diego to move back to the New River Valley to start The Heart of Virginia Foundation in Roanoke.

The foundation's main goal is to raise money through benefit concerts, the sale of a Heart of Virginia benefit CD and T-shirts.

"I felt compelled to help," he said. "It was my way of dealing with the emotions."

On April 16, Edwards saw the words "33 dead in shooting at VT" scroll across the screen of his television and said it really "hit home." Thirty-three was his jersey number, as well as his father, Ken Edwards', jersey number at Virginia Tech.

Edwards said he lived with severe anxiety and depression, even while setting football records, such as four touchdowns in one game in 1993.

Music and art have always been a creative outlet for Edwards, which is why he's using benefit concerts to talk about the foundation and raise money.

"I use it as a testimonial to reach out to people because everyone has been touched by mental illness in some way," he said. "I think everyone has a close friend or relative that has been touched by some type of mental illness -- it affects millions of people."

There is always a need for funding and support for mental health services in the area, said Harvey Barker, executive director of New River Valley Community Services.

Barker learned of The Heart of Virginia Foundation when its staff approached his organization in 2007.

"It's nice to see people wanting to put energy into providing support," Barker said. "It was rare that people wanted to do something."

There are stigmas attached to mental illness, Edwards said, and part of what he would like to do is break down those barriers by talking about his own problems.

"I want to reach out to the community that nurtured and raised me and give back to help people understand emotional illness," Edwards said.

Edwards said he would like to see a major benefit concert available on television around the world to raise awareness of the need for funding for mental services across the New River Valley and Virginia.

"[Results] depend on the money raised," Barker said. "It's an opportunity to bring awareness to mental health needs. ... I believe this is their first attempt, and I wish them the best."

Edwards said his ultimate goal would be to open a multiuse facility for mental health services that integrates arts in therapy.

"A term struck me in the coverage of all this -- that [Seung-Hui] Cho 'slipped through the cracks' of the mental health system," Edwards said. "I felt like that happened to a lot of people, including me. Even with the sports structure I had in my life, people were afraid to approach the subject, and I don't want that to happen."

To find out more about The Heart of Virginia Foundation and updates on the performance schedule, visit theheartofva.org or myspace.com/theheartofvirginia