Coming up this month will be the “STAY; Your Story’s Not Over” 5K Run and Walk, organized by the Berrien County Suicide Prevention Coalition.
Coalition volunteer Mary Couitcher tells us this is the second run the coalition has held to raise funds to support its programs.
“We are looking for participants to run, walk, walk their dogs, push a stroller,” Couitcher said. “It’s much more of a community resource fun event than a competitive 5K.”
The 5K will be held September 20 in Baroda, taking participants from the American Legion Hall, all around the village, and then back to the hall.
They had about 160 runners for last year’s event, and Couitcher says they’re hoping for even more this year. She says the coalition has found people really embrace its mission of suicide prevention and awareness.
“We still have a lot of work to do, but everywhere we go — and I’m just a volunteer — but any of the events that I’ve helped with or with the 5K, the community so embraces the fact that we’re out there talking about it and normalizing it and reassuring people that there is help and there is hope.”
The run and walk will start at 9 a.m. while the Lions Club in Baroda will host a breakfast at 8 a.m. It’ll be staffed by Baroda royalty, and the cost will be $10.
