RICHMOND, Va. -- The 9th annual Speak Up 5K on Saturday is a chance to raise awareness of teen depression and anxiety, which is the mission of the Cameron K. Gallagher Foundation.
Summer Kirby, an intern with CKG Foundation, lost her brother to suicide. The grad student and National American Miss Virginia 2022 is an advocate for teen mental health.
“And my family and I really wanted to become involved with an organization that supports teen mental health and we came across the Cameron K. Gallagher foundation and participated in our first 5k in 2020," Kirby said.
The event would become a safe place as her family grieved the death of her 17-year-old brother, Garrett. The Atlee High School senior died in 2019.
“It was completely unexpected out of the blue. There were no warning signs with my brother,” Kirby said. "The hole is never going to go away that is missing with Garrett. But you know, the time and support that we've had from our Hanover community has really been helpful and impactful to us."
However, Grace Gallagher, the executive director of the Cameron K. Gallagher Foundation, said the event is about more than just people coming together to support each other.
“We've actually been able to raise money to get real programs to the students and to these kids,” Grace Gallagher said.
The organization is named after Grace's daughter, Cameron. She of an undiagnosed heart condition in 2014.
"She was running a half marathon and she was doing that to fight her depression," Grace Gallagher said.
And before Cameron's passing, the teen had planned a 5K.
"I think the first thing is a conversation about how important it is to be proactive with your mental health — not reactive. Don't wait till there's a crisis," Grace Gallagher explained. "Just like you do with your physical health, have a mental health plan ready for you, because you never know when it's gonna come and something might hit that you weren't expecting."
It was Cameron’s dream to normalize the conversation about mental health.
"She finally got to a place where she said, I am Cameron Gallagher, and I have depression," Grace Gallagher recalled. "I am not depression, and we should celebrate the whole person and that's what this is about."
The celebration is designed to be uplifting with party zones and inspirations from Cameron.
The pain is still there, but Grace Gallagher said the family is living out Cameron's mission.
"So it is up to us to be her voice. And you only have that much pain if you have that much love. So we choose to focus on the love," Grace Gallagher said. "I think she'd be saying, 'Wow.' I think she'd be smiling. I think she'd be really proud that she started this."
The 9th annual Speak Up 5K kicks off Saturday at 9 a.m. in Byrd Park in Richmond.
More Weekend Events:
Armenian Food Festival: https://armenianfoodfestival.com/
The Afro Fest: https://www.facebook.com/events/440266964786201
43rd Street Festival of the Arts: https://www.43rdstgallery.com/events2
Cookies for Kids Cancer City-Wide Bake Sale: https://cookiesforkidscancer.org/pages/richmond-bake-sale
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