Walk to ‘Wake the Silence’ with the JD Foundation May 21
By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer
DOVER-FOXCROFT — On Saturday, May 21 the Abbot-based JD Foundation — a nonprofit organization serving the state through suicide prevention and anti-bullying and education by providing holistic approaches and helpful tools to individuals who seek such support — is planning the inaugural five kilometer Walk to Wake the Silence. The walk will start at 10 a.m. at the Piscataquis Regional YMCA, which is hosting the event with the JD Foundation.
“It’s a pretty big deal for us,” JD Foundation President Cheryl Morin said, hoping for a large turnout for the 3.1-mile walk through the streets of Dover-Foxcroft. Walk participants are encouraged to take part for pledges with the various amounts of funds — such as a dollar amount per kilometer — helping fund suicide prevention and anti-bullying programs.
Morin said the foundation is working with area Kiwanis and Key Clubs on the Walk to Wake the Silence. Brewer High School ROTC Instructor Anthony Campbell, a long-time organization volunteer who in December celebrated his 55th birthday by running 55 miles from Brewer to Abbot to raise several thousand dollars for the JD Foundation, and his students are planning to be on the route to assist walkers as they cross streets.
About a dozen businesses across the region are supporting what is being planned to be an annual event, Morin said, with these establishments having their names printed on the back of the Walk to Wake the Silence T-shirts.. She said many of these businesses have registration forms and pledge sheets available at their locations.
A post on the Walk to Wake the Silence Facebook page reads, “So many people sweep mental illness, suicide and bullying under the rug. This fundraiser is about talking about these difficult subjects while raising money to help the JD Foundation work on these important issues that surrounds and impacts all of our lives. This event is also a way to get the young people involved and to talk. We want to let them know we are all here and that we care.”
For more information, please go to http://www.thejdfoundation.org or https://www.facebook.com/JDFoundation.