TO WRITE LOVE ON HER ARMS CELEBRATES 13 YEARS OF HOPE AND HELP

To Write Love on Her Arms (TWLOHA) celebrates its 13th birthday on Saturday, March 30th. Since 2006, the nonprofit has been dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with mental illness. In their 13-year history, TWLOHA has donated over $2.3 million directly into treatment, traveled more than 3.4 million miles to meet people face-to-face at nearly 3,000 events, and has responded to over 210,000 messages from over 100 countries. Each month, they connect with 5 million people online through social media and their FIND HELP Tool fields 5,000 searches made by people seeking affordable, local mental health resources.
To celebrate, the organization is asking supporters to wear TWLOHA merch on March 30th and to post a picture on social media using the hashtag #WearTWLOHA. From the very beginning, the organization has designed and sold T-shirts as a way to fund their efforts. The merchandise they sell, however, serves a bigger purpose. It acts as a conversation starter and a way to introduce people to TWLOHA and their mission of spreading hope and help.
It’s amazing to think that March 30 means 13 years have passed since our friend Jon Foreman wore the first TWLOHA shirt on stage at a Switchfoot concert in South Florida. We never could have imagined all that’s happened since that time-the people we’ve been able to reach, the stories that so many have shared with us,” says TWLOHA founder Jamie Tworkowski. “We get to hear from folks all over the world who are getting help and even choosing to stay alive. We are beyond thankful for the last 13 years. We’re truly hopeful and excited when we think about the future.
They will also be hosting a Two-Day Birthday Warehouse Sale on Friday, March 29th and Saturday, March 30th from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at their headquarters in downtown Melbourne, Florida. The sale is open to the public and will include brand new designs, exclusive deals on merch, and Run For It 5k registration. For more details, visit https://twloha.com/events/spring-warehouse-sale/.
This past September TWLOHA wrapped their 7th Annual World Suicide Prevention Day campaign for World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) and National Suicide Prevention Week (NSPW). With the help of supporters from around the world, the organization was able to raise over $200k for treatment and recovery, more than doubling their initial goal of $100k. Over 3600 people donated to the “Tomorrow Needs You” campaign, in addition to the sale of 4655 World Suicide Prevention Day packs. The money raised will help sponsor nearly 4000 counseling sessions and connect 55,000 people to local mental health resources.
As part of the campaign, TWLOHA shared an inspiring video featuring actors Chris Sullivan (from This Is Us) and Jaina Lee Ortiz (from Station 19), country music star Hunter Hayes, who raised $25,000, writer/artist Morgan Harper Nichols, and singer/songwriter Matt Wertz, along with a number of clips submitted by TWLOHA supporters from around the world. To watch the video, please visit: youtu.be/aEzUMnBHHK0.
For more information on To Write Love On Her Arms, please visit https://twloha.com/.

2018 Out of the Darkness Walk #MentalHealthAwareness #StopSuicide

This past weekend, we participated in and volunteered for the AFSP New Jersey Chapter of the Out of The Darkness Walk. This walk helped raise awareness for mental health and to fight suicide. As of today it raised $122,000 and counting. There were over 1,100 participants walk in Verona Park alone – a great turnout.
walk to end suicide
Ever walker and donor is helping fund the research to help us better understand the complexities of suicide and how best to prevent it. You are making free education and resources possible for the community. You are the voice that advocates on behalf of those who can’t. And you support programs for those who have been touched by suicide. Most importantly, you are breaking the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide by standing up for this important issue, and showing those affected that they are not alone.
Please note that you can donate to the cause.  Please feel free to donate here! Remember, 84 cents of every dollar donated will go to suicide prevention.
Thank you for all you do to fight suicide and raise awareness.

Join in healing together #MarchOfDimes

This is not a review or a sponsored in any way, shape, or form post. I am sharing this as it may be of interest and I myself walk and fundraise for the cause. Pay no attention to the auto script, it’s impossible to remove and just there so I don’t forget to add it to something I’m supposed to, LOL.

 

walk for babies

 

Please note, this email contains content about infant loss and may be difficult to read for anyone who has experienced or been personally affected by the loss of a child.

Today is an important day for me and for too many mothers, Samantha.

Today is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. It can be difficult for mothers and families experiencing loss to find a place to share their story and remember their little ones. There are few spaces where they can share their memories and grief in a community of others who understand what they’re going through.

That’s why I’m sharing my memory of my son Scott on the Wall of Remembrance.

In 2012, my husband and I became one of the thousands of families each year that is devastated by the loss of a child. After a healthy, “perfect” pregnancy, I stopped feeling my baby move at 37 weeks and my labor was induced. Scott was silent when he was born and did not respond to any treatment. After two weeks we made the devastating decision to remove him from life support.

In working through my grief and my own loss, I found an amazing community of other families through March of Dimes. Hearing their stories made me realize we don’t need to grieve in silence. We don’t need to face each day alone.

I’m adding my story to the March of Dimes Wall of Remembrance to pay tribute to Scott and to join the voices of those affected.

Read the stories and join in the fight to end infant loss.

March of Dimes is working to address pregnancy and infant loss in the U.S., which has significantly higher rates of loss than other developed nations. With your support, we can help prevent future families from dealing with unspeakable grief and save the lives of babies.

Donations help advance research, provide educational resources and support advocacy for policies to prioritize the health of all moms and babies. 

(Personal note from me here at Have Sippy Will Travel, I’m walking and would love to have you walk as well or help donate to the cause.)

Together we’ll heal and provide a brighter future for us all,

Nicole Miller (March of Dimes)

GIFT OF LIFE MARROW REGISTRY STEPS FOR LIFE 5K RUN & WALK AT BATTERY PARK – THIS SUNDAY

WHAT: Gift of Life Marrow Registry helps children and adults suffering from leukemia, lymphoma, other cancers and genetic disorders find donors for bone marrow transplants.
Event is dedicated to raising awareness on the importance of joining the marrow registry.
Certified and timed 5K with awards given to the top finishers.
At the event, a life-saving marrow donor and their transplant recipient will meet for the first time.
WHEN: Sunday, October 14, 2018 from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Check-in Time: 8:00 am
WHERE: Battery Park- Robert F. Wagner, Jr. New York, NY
REGISTRATION: Please register today here and help us get everyone involved, swabbed and cured!
Invite friends, family, and co-workers to run as a group; Volunteer at the event to earn community service hours; Students $15 when registering online (includes shirt)- $20 on the day of the event; Adults $30 when registering online (includes shirt)- $35 on the day of the event; Kids (6 and under) FREE- Superhero Sprint includes a cape and medal.
About Gift of Life Marrow Registry:
Gift of Life Marrow Registry is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Boca Raton, Fla. The organization, established in 1991, is dedicated to saving lives and facilitating bone marrow and blood stem cell transplants for patients with leukemia, lymphoma, and other blood-related diseases. To learn more about Gift of Life Marrow Registry, visit www.giftoflife.org.

Come Support “Gift of Life Marrow Registry” 5K

Join the Gift of Life Marrow Registry Steps for Life 5K Run & Walk at Battery Park.

Come and support “Gift of Life Marrow Registry”, an incredible organization dedicated to helping children and adults suffering from leukemia, lymphoma, and other cancers and genetic disorders find donors for bone marrow transplants, by signing up for the “Steps for Life 5K Run & Walk”. This event is open to professional runners and families alike, and is dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of joining the marrow registry. The race will also be the first ever meeting place of one marrow donor and their recipient.

Certified and timed 5K with awards given to the top finishers.

Please register today and help us get everyone involved, swabbed and cured!

Date:
Sunday, October 14, 2018 from 8:00 am – 12:00 pm. Check-in Time: 8:00 am

Location:
Battery Park- Robert F. Wagner, Jr. New York, NY/ 20 Battery Pl, New York, NY 10280

Right off of the 4/5 Bowling Green Train Station, and the 1 South Ferry Train Station.

Ticket Price:
Students- 15$ when you sign up online. 20$ at the event.
Adults- 30$ when you sign up online, 35$ at the event.
Kids- 6 and under FREE, and will receive a Superhero Sprint cape and medal.

About the 5K

The purpose of this race is to raise awareness for the “Gift of Life Marrow Registry”, and also provide a venue for the very first meeting of a donor and their recipient. The donor, a 28-year-old New York medical resident will meet the 54-year-old New Jersey mother and wife whose life he saved through the Gift of Life Marrow Registry. The New Jersey woman had been battling the potentially fatal Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), until the New York man donated his stem cells, via Gift of Life.

And this is not the first time this New York man saved a life: as a university student, he was shot while defending a woman during an attack in New Orleans.

Due to federal law, donors and recipients must remain anonymous for at least one year. But the New York resident and his recipient will finally learn one another’s identities at the Gift of Life Steps For Life 5K Run & Walk in New York City Oct. 14, starting at 8 am in Battery Park.