By Shenandoah Briere
Oswego County Today intern
OSWEGO – On Saturday, Sept. 30, Suicide Awareness Voices of Education and the SUNY Oswego Lifestyles Center will hold their seventh annual Stride to SAVE Lives walk.
The event is held every year to raise awareness about suicide.
Click here for more SAVE information
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which SAVE cites on its website, approximately 105 people commit suicide every day, making it the 10th leading cause of death among all ages.
The event which has seen an increase in participants over the past years, is meant to spread awareness and hope, said Jamie Leszynski, a chair for the event.
“Suicide is one of those things where you don’t tend to wear it on your sleeve if you’ve lost someone,” said Leszynski. “I don’t have a bumper sticker that says: ‘I support suicide prevention’ like you do with cancer or ‘In memory of.’ So this is a way for all of us to come together and be with each other and it’s very moving and supportive.”
During the event, there will be a 5k walk or run starting at 11 a.m. as well as raffles, stories from survivors, musical performances and food.
The entire event is free to participate in.
There will also be opportunities for people to donate during the event.
The organization’s goal this year is to raise $25,000 to go toward suicide prevention programs.
According to their website, they have currently raised a little more than 40 percent of that goal from more than 400 donors.
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