Run for a cause: Connor’s Climb 5K & Family Walk set for Sept. 22

EXETER — Connor’s Climb Foundation is again taking to the streets to help increase mental health and suicide prevention education and awareness by hosting its 11th annual 5K & Family Walk.

This race, held on Sunday, Sept. 22, during National Suicide Prevention Month, is the top fundraiser for the nonprofit to support its mission of providing suicide prevention education to the state of New Hampshire and its surrounding communities. Funds raised from this race go directly to Connor's Climb Foundation’s suicide prevention programming.

Connor’s Climb works with schools, the public and the mental health system to ensure New Hampshire youth have the life-saving resources needed to prevent suicide. Since the foundation’s launch, it has supported over 130 schools and more than 30,000 students across the state. It has collectively trained over 10,000 trusted adults (school staff and community members alike) on the SOS program and other aspects of suicide prevention and mental health awareness.

Tara Holmes Ball founded Connor’s Climb Foundation in 2012 after her son, Connor, a 14-year-old freshman at Exeter High School, died by suicide. Now one of the leading advocates for suicide prevention education and recipient of the 2024 NH Center for Non-Profits Impact Award, Ball and her team work to raise awareness and provide education for youth suicide prevention throughout New Hampshire and surrounding communities.

“The race is a vital part of the work Connor’s Climb Foundation does because it brings together so many different people who are key to preventing youth suicide in New Hampshire,” Ball said. “When our youth, families, educators, loss survivors, community leaders and other stakeholders gather, they are not there just to run a race, they are there to build a stronger community that recognizes mental health is no different, or less important, than physical health. The work of youth suicide prevention takes all of us, and I cannot thank everyone who supports this work enough.”

To register, go to https://www.connorsclimb.org/2024-5k-and-family-walk/ . Participants can choose to walk, run, or even take part virtually.

If you or someone you know needs help immediately, dial or text the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8 or chat at 988lifeline.org.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Run for a cause: Connor’s Climb 5K & Family Walk set for Sept. 22