Because mental illness and suicidal ideation are far too often hidden struggles that people face, we at Samaritans believe it is our job to do everything possible to raise awareness and to break the stigma of mental illness and suicide so that everyone feels safe and empowered to speak up when they need help.
This month, we are busy with several projects to continue to make hidden struggles seen and to make progress toward creating a world without suicide.
- We are hosting an event for Samaritans Life Saving Society on March 23
Our Life Saving Society is a special group of donors who give more than $1,000 during the year to support our life saving work. Because we know that community and connection are critical for suicide prevention, we want to create a sense of community and connection among this amazing group of people. We will meet on Thursday, March 23 from 6-8pm at More Than Words on 242 E Berkeley St. in Boston, and our very own Steven Karaiskos, Senior Director of Community Outreach, will discuss his new workshop model to build community, connection and conversation about mental illness and suicide among young people. If you are a Life Saving Society member and would like to join us, please RSVP to LaToya Howard at [email protected]. - Our Boston MarathonⓇ Team is a little over a month away from the big race!
Our team of 13 Boston Marathon runners are putting in hundreds of miles each week to prepare for the 127th Boston MarathonⓇ on April 17, 2023. They also have raised over $100,000 toward their goal of raising $150,000 to support Samaritans life saving services. Each week, we feature one of our amazing runners on social media so that you can learn more about their story and support them. Please visit one of our social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn) every Tuesday to get to know this amazing team of runners, and please consider supporting them in their races. Here are a few of the runners whom we have been able to feature so far (and more to come!): - Save the date for our 2023 Breakfast for Hope!
Our annual Breakfast for Hope is one of the primary ways in which we can build community and connection to prevent suicide. It is also an opportunity to create conversation about mental illness and suicide so that more people feel safe and empowered to make their hidden struggles seen. We are looking for corporate and individual sponsors who can help us make this year’s Breakfast for Hope the best one yet, and we hope everyone will register to join us. If you would like to sponsor this event or register to join us, visit our event page at www.breakfastforhope.org.
- Applications are about to open for the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon!
Samaritans is grateful to have received 10 charity bibs in the 2023 TCS New York City Marathon, and we are looking to build a team of runners committed to fundraising in support of our mission to prevent suicide and offer hope and support to those affected! Applications will open in March. Members of Team Samaritans who run the marathon on November 5, 2023 will receive:
– A running singlet and other Samaritans Team gear
– Pre-marathon dinner in NYC on marathon weekend
– Fundraising and social media support
– Access to a Marathon Training Program with Acclaimed Training Coach, John Furey
– An Official 2023 TCS New York City Marathon medal upon completion of the race
If you are interested in applying to join Team Samaritans, please visit our NYC marathon page to find out more information and to apply.