Move for Mental Health 2002:
A Day of Celebration and Hope

eattle’s second annual Move for Mental Health 2002, held Saturday, September 28, proved to be a shining success for those who believe in a better life for people with mental illness and their families. The event, a partnership between Community Psychiatric Clinic and NAMI-WAMI, formerly known as Washington Advocates for the Mentally Ill, generated over $35,000 in revenue from donations, pledges, registrants, and sponsors and welcomed 568 participants, including 29 teams. Of the total number of participants, nearly 100 low-income individuals were able to participate through scholarships provided through fundraising efforts.

The weather was spectacular and complemented the natural beauty of Sand Point Magnuson Park, where the event was held. Everyone could feel the positive energy in the air as they arrived to support mental health and be warmed by the sun. This year’s event focused on the potential and recovery of individuals with mental illness and received major media attention by KIRO-TV on the afternoon of September 28th. The educational piece, which aired on the 5:00 news, highlighted the personal story Kylee Qualls, consumer and event planning committee member, and the insights of Dr. Peter Roy-Byrne, Chief of Psychiatry at the University of Washington, who addressed the challenges and potential for recovery from mental illness.

Randy Revelle, guest speaker, kicked-off the event, with a passionate speech about his own struggle with mental illness and his story of recovery. As former King County Executive, current Vice President for Policy and Public Affairs with the Washington State Hospital Association, and Chair of the Washington Coalition for Insurance Parity, Mr. Revelle spoke about the importance of fighting stigma attached to mental illness, and supporting Mental Health Parity, CPC and NAMI-WAMI. His caring and compassion words offered a perfect send off for participants as they prepared to run or walk the three-mile and one-mile course.

Another highlight of the day was the return performance of the Total Experience Gospel Choir, whose magnificent voices and inspirational songs welcomed runners and walkers as they approached the end of the course. ProMotion and Perfect Time Events helped with registration and race logistics and did a great job timing the race and calling the names of participants as they crossed the finish line. Two of CPC’s mental health programs were represented through a display and sale of paintings and jewelry created by CPC clients. All participants were provided t-shirts, refreshments, and sports bags containing valuable mental health information, including an opportunity to win many random prizes. In addition, awards were given acknowledging individual and team achievements. Top male and female runners in seven age categories were acknowledged for having the best time. The Downtown Emergency Services Center team was recognized for having 25 members, more than any other team. Most team spirit awards were presented to The Raging Grannies and the Cascade Cruisers. The Wild Women of Wallingford collected $1,011 in pledges, the most pledges of any team. Joy Abram Horiuchi who participated in the walk but was not present during the award ceremony, deserves a big round of applause for being the top individual fundraiser and collecting over $1,200 in pledges!

Over 50 volunteers devoted their time setting up and tearing down, registering runners/walkers, taking pledges, providing information, assisting on the race course, and much, much more. Without their support, and the support of a dedicated group of individuals who worked on organizing the event for several months, the Move for Mental Health could not have happened. A very special thanks goes out to the following planning committee members whose dedication and hard work resulted in another successful Move for Mental Health: Sherrill Bohart, Cheryl Cooke, Jennifer Gerstenberger, Heather Freese, Frank Jose, Carolyn Hale, Shirley Havenga, Paula Huffman, Jessica Knaster, Mindy Meyring, Jeanne Miller, Becky Nelson, Christina Purdum, and Kylee Qualls.

Last but not least, we are extremely grateful to the following companies and organizations whose generous contributions helped support the Move for Mental Health:

	Fremont Rotary Club - $1,000
	Glaxo-Smith-Kline - $1,000
	Harborview Medical Center - $1,000
	Safeway - $1,000
	Sam’s Club - $1,000
	ARC Architects - $500
	Bank of America - $500
	Benefit Port Northwest - $500
	Bennett Bigelow & Leedom - $500
	Branch Richards & Company - $500
	Brown & Brown of Washington - $500
	Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc. - $500
	Retirement Services Group of US Bancorp Piper Jaffray - $500
	United Behavioral Health - $500
	Urban Press - $500

We would also like to acknowledge the following businesses for providing event day refreshments and helping us keep event costs to a minimum:
 

	Great Harvest Bread Co.
	Café Flora
	Costco
	Jamba Juice
	Wallingford QFC
	Safeway
	Runner’s World

The goal of this event was to raise awareness and funds to support individuals in the community with mental illness. It was with the dedication and support of everyone involved that we were able to achieve this goal. As Randy Revelle reminded us in his speech, one in three people will experience mental illness in their lifetime, and 85,000 King County residents are touched by this disorder. Judging by the level of support demonstrated this year, and the need for mental health awareness and services in our community, we’ll be back next year! We welcome you to join us in September 2003!

To view photos from the Move for Mental Health 2002, visit www.MyRaceDay.com. All photographs are available to purchase with a portion of all proceeds directed back to Move for Mental Health 2002.

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	Archived News
	2001-2003