The Annual Marquette County Out of the Darkness Community Walk will be held this Saturday, September 7th at Al Quaal Recreation Area in Ishpeming hosted by the Marquette County Suicide Prevention Alliance. Registration begins at 9:00AM and the event activities will begin at 10:00AM. The proceeds support the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s local and national education and advocacy programs and its bold goal to reduce the annual rate of suicide 20% by 2025.
Everyone is welcome to attend the event and assist in raising awareness about this important public health issue. Individuals and teams from across Marquette County are planning to participate in the event to remember those lost to suicide and to support and bring hope to those affected by suicide.
The event will include stories of lived experience shared by volunteers. Walkers will have the opportunity to “Plant the Seeds of Hope” and take a small planted pot home. Building off of previous events, the community will once again have the opportunity to add to the “community scrapbook” that the Alliance houses. The scrapbook features pages of pictures, poems, or stories from loss survivors and individuals with lived experience.
In Escanaba, End The Silence, a depression awareness and suicide prevention walk, is scheduled for Saturday, September 7.
The event will be held at the Ludington Park Pavilion in Escanaba at the beginning of National Suicide Prevention Week. Money raised from the walk provides funding for The Delta County Suicide Prevention Taskforce. It is held in remembrance of Bobby and Josh Bintner. They were two Delta County brothers, who completed suicide 13 years apart. Both brothers battled secretly with depression and felt that they had no other option but to end their lives. Over the last 10 years, over $160,000 has been raised to support The Delta County Suicide Prevention Taskforce initiatives.
Registration for the event begins at 9 a.m., which will occur rain or shine. The opening ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. with the non-competitive walk/run, to follow. There are 2, 5, 10 mile route options. Registration fees are waived with pledges of $50 or more; collection of pledges is optional. Pre-registration will secure a requested t-shirt size. T-shirts will be given with paid registration. Tax-exempt contributions are welcomed. More details at www.endthesilencewalk.com,
