It Starts With An Idea

11/27/2018 (Permalink)

Community does not just happen, it starts with an idea and grows.  An idea that brings people from all walks of life together and unites us.  That is a very powerful thing and starts with a simple idea.

After watching the pain that has swept our communities throughout Central Illinois with the rise of teen suicide these last several years we wanted to do something that would help put an end to this horror that effects everyone from rural towns to the biggest of cities.  But what could we do?  We talked to Pastors, Police and Fire Departments, School Officials, Behavioral Professionals and Elected Officials.  What we discovered is that the organizations that deal and support the schools are overloaded.  One official told me that they deal suicide in some context on a daily basis and is surprised the numbers are not higher.  What we discovered is that training and resources are the biggest need.  Kids these days do not process stress and depression the same way we did when we were kids.  With limited resources and training available we have a lot of ground to make up.

SERVPRO wanted to help so we came up with an idea to both raise money and raise awareness to this cause.  We are now in the process of organizing the "I Pledge I Matter campaign" and a 10K/5K/1 mile walk next November.  The Run is to raise money for existing programs that train teachers and professionals that are on the front lines helping our kids.  We have a goal raising $9000 to go to these programs that help our kids and have a direct impact across all of Central Illinois.  We cannot think of a better way to help grow our community than to help our kids through tough and difficult times.  This is a topic that we will blog about quite a bit as this idea grows and takes shape over the next year.