Save the Date: the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out of the Darkness Walk

Smarties, save the date and consider donating to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s (AFSP) annual Out of the Darkness Charlotte community walk on October 29 in Romare Beardon Park. The Out of the Darkness Walk is the only fundraiser in Charlotte that promotes hope and healing for survivors who have lost loved ones to suicide. It is also a way to bring awareness and funding for suicide prevention activities in our community and brings mental health issues to the fore front.

This year’s walk has special Smarty ties – our 2015 Smarty Mom of the Year Nikki Warren is co-chair of the event and is leading her own team, Team Gregg, in honor of her late brother, Gregg Doule, who committed suicide just over two years ago at the age of 35. Here’s Gregg in Nikki’s words:

Gregg was amazing….extremely handsome, brilliant and athletic. He graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Tech, was the captain of the swim team at Virginia Tech and was he was awarded the Atlantic 10 Academic Male Student Athlete of the year in 2000. At the time of his death, he was the Commercial Director of GE Energy in Atlanta, GA. He created a patent that reduced liquid discharge in wet flue gas desulfurization. He traveled all over the world and had even lived in Milan, Italy for numerous years. His life looks perfect on paper but living became too hard. But sadly, Gregg suffered terribly from depression, which ultimately took his life.

We are so proud of Nikki and all of the other families who work to bring suicide out of the dark. It’s time to start talking about suicide and mental health so we don’t lose another friend or family member. Here’s a great video from AFSP site that gives you a feel for this amazing event and cause. Hope to see you there!

Event Details

Walk Date: 10/29/2016
Walk Location: Romare Beardon Park – 300 S. Church St. – Charlotte, NC
Check-in/Registration Time: 10/29/2016 at 1:00 pm
Walk Begins: 2:00 pm
Walk Ends: 4:00 pm
Register here