Expedition Hope

It’s been a busy past several months, and it’s been hard to find the time to write! There’s much to say, and longer entries will be forthcoming. But for now, I wanted to share three event updates:

One: Last Sunday (October 4) wrapped up the four-week series of “The Seven Summits — An Indianapolis Mountaineering Festival” which was held at Holliday Park here in Indianapolis. Among a small group of climbing friends, we have collectively been on all Seven Summits. The purpose of this series was to help raise awareness and funds for our friend and fellow climber, Larry Howald, who lives with Parkinson’s Disease.

I was proud to be able to kick-off this event with a presentation on Australia and Antarctica. Dave Carter wrapped it up for us last week with a captivating recount of his awesome and terrifying experiences on Mt. Everest – the highest point on earth. Many thanks to Ace Yakey for spearheading this event for Larry and Parkinson’s Disease awareness. Also, many thanks to all of who attended the series and/or made a donation. Over the course of these past four weeks, more than 400 people attended, and we collected more than $ 4,000 for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research! Thank you! For those interested in helping support Larry’s cause, please visit www.teamfox.org and type in event “Seven in Seven.”

Two: With Expedition Hope’s own mission of raising awareness about depression and mental health, I have also become involved in the local NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) chapter – NAMI Indianapolis. On October 6, NAMI Indianapolis held its second annual “Music for the Mind” event, which featured dinner, a silent auction, awards ceremony and more. There were almost 200 in attendance at this event co-chaired by the Mayor of Indianapolis and his wife. I got to volunteer as the event photographer, and my wife and I enjoyed a pleasant evening helping to support this wonderful organization. Anyone interested in helping to support NAMI Indianapolis may do so at www.namiindy.org.

Three: Finally, yesterday, in conjunction with Depression Awareness Week, was National Depression Screening Day. However, just in case you missed it yesterday, it’s never too late to get a screening or to seek treatment! There are many agencies, such as NAMI, that can offer assistance. A few of these organizations may be found by clicking “Links” at the right. Depression is a treatable illness!

This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 2:24 pm and is filed under HOME & WHAT'S NEW . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.