A couple of weeks ago, I went by Miami Beach Senior High where Alec went to school while he was here. It was the first time I had been there since my sons left in December of ’08. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant experience, going there. As soon as I crossed through the gate and saw the office, I got choked up. And even though it seemed like I could cruise through the meeting without incident, I completely lost my composure in front of the administrator who graciously took the time to speak with me. Such is life.
My reason for going was simple. I wanted to know if there were any local organizations (that the school supported) whose mission was to help troubled teens. I found out that there is: the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
On October 24th at 10am, I will be taking part in the Miami-Dade County Out of the Darkness Community Walk which raises money to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. From the Out of the Darkness website:
WALK TO SAVE LIVES…
In the United States, a person dies by suicide every 16 minutes, claiming more than 33,000 lives each year. It is estimated that an attempt is made every minute; with close to one million people attempting suicide annually. With your participation, you will not just be walking, and your donors will not just be writing a check – you will be helping to save lives.
By walking in the Out of the Darkness Community Walks to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), you will be walking with thousands of people nationwide to raise money for AFSP’s vital research and education programs to prevent suicide and save lives, increase national awareness about depression and suicide, advocate for mental health issues, and assist survivors of suicide loss.
WALK TO HONOR A LOVED ONE…Many of our participants walk in memory of a loved one lost to suicide. AFSP provides opportunities for survivors of suicide loss to connect with each other and get involved through a wide variety of educational, outreach, awareness, advocacy and fundraising programs. Each walk site has its own unique remembrance activity in which you can participate to honor a loved one.
WALK TO RAISE AWARENESS… AFSP funds research aimed at improving our understanding of suicide and ways to prevent it as well as educational activities to increase awareness about prevention, warning signs and the psychiatric illnesses that can lead to suicide.
By deciding to walk you are taking us a step closer to making suicide prevention a national priority.
The walk takes place at the Coral Gables campus of the University of Miami. It would be great to have a team of people to walk together. No, it would be awesome.
I’ve set a fairly reasonable fundraising goal for myself of $500. Please consider giving to this worthwhile cause. If you’d like to donate to help me reach that goal, there is a DonorDrive page (secure and easy) where you can make donations directly. The donation page is located here: http://afsp.donordrive.com/participant/alec
Most of you are already aware of what is behind this, but for those who aren’t: my oldest son, Alec, committed suicide earlier this year. Here is some of my account of that. And here is a page on Facebook in loving memory of Alec. A cursory glance through the comments and through the friends list, and you can see the impact Alec’s life and death had on others. For a while, I left the group because it was just… too much sadness. Six months, Alec has been gone now. He left a giant hole in the hearts of many.
This is my motivation and while I can’t bring Alec back, I CAN make a difference in the lives of others and help to reduce suicide. Please consider making a donation to support this cause.
Thank you.
(The photo is one I snapped of Alec and Zach while we were riding a ferris wheel years ago in South Carolina.)
This brings the total number of photos within the 
