KINGSTON, R.I. — Oct. 10, 2019 — The University of Rhode Island’s 11th Be 5K Run/Walk for Mental Health Awareness and Suicide Prevention could be the strongest one yet as numerous agencies and businesses will participate for the first time.
Part of URI’s Alumni and Family Weekend, the race and walk, which will be held Sunday, Oct. 27, at 10 a.m. on the quadrangle of the Kingston Campus, will attract URI students, faculty and staff, and participants from around the region to benefit the Heather Fund, a URI Foundation & Alumni Engagement fund established to support mental health programs for students. Registration and other programming begins at 8:30 on the quadrangle. Participants can also register online. The first 100 will receive a T-shirt. Those who can’t make it to the quadrangle that day may still donate to the Heather Fund.
This year the URI students, staff and others who make the event great will be joined by teams from People’s Credit Union, Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds of Washington County, the United Way’s 211 mobile unit and Blue Love Off the Cuffs, a group formed to address a variety of issues faced by law enforcement officers, including mental health crises and suicide. Not only will these groups participate, but they will offer resources and information relating to mental health, wellness and suicide prevention. They will join members of two new URI student groups focused on mental health promotion, Active Minds and URI, R U OK?, as well as volunteers from the URI Counseling Center, which has participated for several years, URI Health Services, URI College of Nursing, URI Campus Recreation, and the URI Psychological Consultation Center.
“People’s Credit Union is honored to be participating in the Be5K at URI. We are proud to partner with URI as it continues to build a national leadership role in mental-health awareness on college campuses,” said Marketing Manager Courtney Hunter. “At People’s Credit Union, we believe in doing our part to enhance the communities we serve and this event speaks to the very nature of our philosophy of ‘people helping people.’”
Several members of the family of Josephine and Roger Vennewald will also participate. The Vennewalds established the Heather Fund in 1996 on behalf of their daughter, Heather, a URI student, who they lost to suicide. Her memory lives on through the Heather Fund, as it provides resources for students and works to alleviate the stigma associated with mental illness.
The event is called the Be 5K because it urges participants and the URI community to be compassionate, loving, hopeful, aware, present, happy and to be themselves to build a healthier community. It is the oldest community outreach event on campus dedicated to mental health promotion and suicide pevention.
“The interest in the run and walk is very exciting because it shows how important this issue is to URI and our surrounding community,” said Amy Albert, URI’s community engagement coordinator for the Center for Career and Experiential Education in University College for Academic Success. “It’s a great chance for people to come together to support our students and those suffering from the losses associated with suicide. We are honored that the Vennewalds will again speak at the opening ceremonies and get us ready for a powerful and uplifting day.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health say that suicide is among the leading causes of death in the nation, and is the second leading cause of death among college students. Mental health conditions are often seen as the cause of suicide, but the CDC adds that many people who die by suicide are not known to have a diagnosed mental health condition at the time of death. Other problems often contribute to suicide, such as those related to relationships, substance use, physical health, and job, money, legal, or housing stress.
This year’s event will include raffles for everything from Providence Bruins tickets to discounts at Whalers Brewery. Student groups will also offer yoga and meditation sessions prior to the race and Rock Spot Climbing of Peace Dale will bring its mobile climbing wall to the quad.
Twenty student volunteers from Albert’s office, including Kylee Harris, a senior majoring in communicative disorders from Cranston, Rhode Island, have been helping to plan the event and will be on hand Oct. 27. Harris has been a fixture at the event and at programs to promote the Be 5K throughout her University career.
“She has been super involved each year, but in the last two years, she has played a big role in fundraising and logistics. She is enthusiastic and has helped make this event what it is. She is one of those people who make URI a better place,” Albert said.
Fresh Check Day
Fresh Check Day will be held Wednesday, Oct. 16, from noon to 3 p.m. on the quad. The interactive health fair and mental health check-in has been a URI staple since 2016. A program of the Jordan Porco Foundation, it is committed to preventing suicide, promoting mental health and creating a message of hope for college students and other young adults. The foundation says that 1 in 10 college students contemplate suicide, which leaves nine students to help each one who is struggling.
Students who participate will be entered into a raffle for an Amazon Echo, and they will also receive a $5 coupon to be redeemed as part of the Beats and Eats program run by URI’s Office of Student Involvement. Beats and Eats will provide a DJ and the Mindful Maia food truck, where the coupons can be redeemed.