Back in October, I wrote a post about my dad. I wrote about the day he died, my feelings surrounding his death, and then I wrote about how I try to deal with life now as he has passed and I am forced to move on yet not forget.
I have been thinking for the last few years about how to remember him in a positive way. Shortly after my dad's death, the president of the company he worked for, Tennsco, donated $30,000 to a community fund here where we live in my dad's name. As I thought about that and have participated in many races that are in memory of people who have died for various reasons i.e. cancer, fatal accidents, etc, I am now prepared to make my mark in the name of my dad. I recently came across an organization known as SAVE-Suicide Awareness Voices of Education.The SAVE mission is to prevent suicide through public awareness and education, reduce stigma, and serve as a resource for those touched by suicide. I have opened a webpage for my dad where he will have a SAVE Named Memorial. This is the reason for the little widget at the side of my blog titled "Help Stop Suicide". The following is a quick summary of what the memorial is about:
"A SAVE Named Memorial is a memorial established to honor and/or remember someone who has lost his or her life through suicide or who the donor wishes to remember or honor for other reasons. A minimum (total gifts combined) gift of $50 establishes a SAVE Named Memorial and the name will be displayed on SAVE's website. When the memorial reaches $1000 (donations total), the name of the person is placed on the Memorial Wall located at SAVE's headquarters in Minnesota. A light adorns each name and can be lit for special occasion."
SAVE provides resources centered on suicide prevention and coping with loss due to suicide. Educational brochures for adults and youth are available for community prevention programs, schools, health care professionals, businesses and for individuals concerned with suicide prevention. SAVE also has speakers who travel the country to raise awareness of suicide and resources on how to try and prevent it. These valuable tools provide an excellent opportunity to build community awareness as well as help those in need.
Aside from the website, I am hoping by March to put together a 5k race where 100% of the entry fees will go straight to the SAVE organization in memory of my dad.
Why you might ask have I all of a sudden decided to do all of this? My answer is both selfish and unselfish at the same time. Selfishly, I am having a difficult time STILL with his death. I want to remember my dad in a positive way and raising money for a non-profit organization that helps survivors of suicide and also raises awareness of it's reality in life helps me to do exactly that: continue to heal. The unselfish part is this: it is my HOPE to raise money in my dad's name to help educate more people about depression and preventing suicide. It is my heartfelt wish that no other family has to experience the pain of losing a loved one to suicide.
The website memorial is: www.firstgiving.com/homertaylor
The organizations website is: www.save.org
Please do not feel obligated to give. I only want to raise awareness myself and thus the website was born.
Lastly, I want to say thanks to those of you who have given your love and support to me and my family over the last 5 years. It means a lot that you care so much about our well-being.
