Samaritans Run Boston Marathon To Help Save Lives

(Boston, MA) – Jena Roma, a native of Reading, MA, will run in the 120th Boston Marathon on Monday, April 18, 2016. By running, Jena will help Samaritans raise needed funds to support suicide prevention programs.

Roma will be running alongside thirteen other Samaritans Marathon Team runners with the goal of raising hope and awareness for suicide prevention. “I am running in honor of my uncle, Tom McCarthy, whom my family and I tragically lost to suicide on September 22nd, 2011.” says Roma. This will be Roma’ first year running on the Samaritan’s Team in the Boston Marathon.

Each year John Hancock donates guaranteed entries to select nonprofits, which use these entries to recruit individual runners to raise money for their cause. Last year, John Hancock nonprofit runners raised more than $10 million for over 140 different local organizations. For over 30 years John Hancock has been the principal sponsor of the Boston Marathon®. The Company’s continued support of the Boston Athletic Association, which has directed the race since 1897, ensures that the race will continue to be a world class event and an important facet of Boston’s culture and heritage.

This is the ninth consecutive year that Samaritans, a suicide prevention organization serving the Greater Boston and Metro West communities has received bib numbers for their Marathon Team. The donation was made to help Samaritans generate awareness about the issue of suicide, educate the public about suicide prevention, and raise much-needed funds.

”The day he died my aunts and mom lost their brother, my dad his best friend, my grandfather his only son and my cousins their dad.” Roma continues. “My Uncle could do anything. He could fix or repair anything you put in front of him. He was one of the funniest people I ever met and had the most infectious laugh, one that I can still hear in my head today. I don’t think he had any idea how much he meant to everyone. Whenever he is brought up in conversation the number one comment I hear is; “I think about him every single day.”

“We are so grateful to have received marathon numbers through John Hancock,” said Steve Mongeau, Executive Director of Samaritans. “The stigma and misinformation that surrounds the discussion of suicide and suicide prevention is an unfortunate reality. By educating the public about this important issue while raising funds to support Samaritans’ programs, our marathon runners are performing a tremendous service to our organization and the community at large. They are helping to save lives.”

In addition to Roma, thirteen other runners have joined Samaritans Team through the John Hancock Marathon Program and the Boston Athletic Association: Andrea Mendes (Andover, MA), David Thompson (Eden Prairie, MN), Davia Moore (Beverly, MA), David Johnson (Milton, MA), Jeffrey Price (Cambridge, MA), Kim Gagnon (Norwell, MA), Kristina Conroy (Boston, MA), Michael DuBose (The Woodlands, TX), Michael Monestime (Cambridge, MA), Ramon Neves (Roslindale, MA), Sathya Silva (Cambridge, MA), Steven Yearwood (Los Angeles, CA), Veronica Reichardt (Worcester, MA),

To learn more or make a donation towards Jena’s goal of $5,000, visit https://www.crowdrise.com/SamaritansBoston2016/fundraiser/jenaroma

More about Samaritans

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Over the past 42 years, Samaritans, Inc. volunteers have answered more than 2.5 million phone calls. The agency has trained more than 4,500 volunteers and instructed more than 100,000 individuals through its Community Education and Outreach Program and has supported over 10,000 individuals who have lost a loved one to suicide.

For more information on Samaritans visit www.samaritanshope.org or call the business office at 617-536-2460.

Samaritans Statewide Toll Free Helpline: 877-870-HOPE (4673), call or text 24/7 for free, confidential emotional support.