To my wonderful family and friends,
As many of you know, on the night of April 4th, 2007 we lost our dear friend Katie Craig when she took her life after a courageous battle with mental illness. Katie was an incredible person-- full of life, laughter, and silliness. She was loved by all who knew her, and brought tremendous joy to our lives!
Katie’s Birthday is October 10th, 1986. Just before her birthday last year, I was hired to work at Samaritans, an amazing non-profit dedicated to reducing the incidence of suicide. As October approaches once again, I continue to be proud and impressed by the work of our volunteers and staff. Through the 24-hour phone helpline, support groups for people who have lost loved ones to suicide, and numerous community outreach presentations done each year, Samaritans does life saving work every single day.
This year, exactly a week before her 23rd birthday, a group of Katie's friends and I will be running in her honor at the 11th annual Samaritans 5K run/walk. One of her many talents was running—this girl was FAST! Katie could gracefully run for hours without breaking a sweat, smiling the whole time. On October 3rd, I will most certainly be sweating and will not be the least bit graceful, but I will try to smile, knowing that Katie is with us as we run to celebrate her life!
I know that these are tough financial times for everyone, and for exactly that reason, I ask for your help. The people who call us every day, who need our support groups, and who benefit from our community outreach presentations look to us now more than ever. The demand on the helplines jumped from 7,500 calls in July, 2008, to over 12,000 in July, 2009. Our volunteers logged close to 2800 hours on the phone last month, an increase of about 800 additional hours, to try and answer the calls, but there were still 1,000's of calls that went unanswered. The volume of outreach workshops and grief support group meetings doubled this July compared to a year ago. Sadly, as the demand for services continues to climb, the support from sponsors, foundations and grants is declining. The 5K Run for Someone Else's Life fundraiser is our biggest event to generate support for the organization each year, and the need has never been greater to have an exceptionally successful day. Every penny counts, and I promise your money will go to good use.
After you register, if you would like to assist the fundraising efforts, you can make your own personalized page at by clicking "Join this team" on this page!
It is a good reminder of why everyone is calling this event “A great day to be alive”! “
Thank you very much for your support.
With Hope and Love,
Karina
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