Save the Date: IAM Strong Foundation Hosts 1st Annual 5k Run/Walk on May 3rd

The IAM Strong Foundation has announced that on May 3rd, 2015, it will host an off road 5k in Westwood, Massachusetts. This will be the first major community event for this important organization.

IAM Strong began in January of 2015, after the passing of Isabelle Medina, an adolescent who took her own life. In creating the organization, friends and family sought to open the conversation about adolescent mental health issues. Children in middle school and high school are experiencing difficulties every day, according to board member Karen Jordanides, and the need to keep these difficulties hidden exacerbates the problem. “It’s happening, and no one is talking about it,” she explains.

The IAM Strong Foundation seeks to change that. Their mission is to help remove judgment and shame from teenagers’ mental health struggles. “It’s about minimizing the stigma, opening the conversation, and offering support,” says board member Emily Medina. Depression, anxiety, self-harm, obsessive compulsive disorder, and eating disorders are just some examples of the struggles that teenagers are facing every day. IAM Strong wants to bring these struggles out in the open, where kids can feel support and not shame in the journey toward healing.

Just months after the creation of the organization, IAM Strong has over two thousand followers on Facebook and Instagram. The Facebook presence alone is already accomplishing the organization’s mission, by sharing honest accounts of mental health issues written by people dealing with these issues. Especially moving are the stories written by the parents and siblings of adolescents with mental health struggles. Coupled with the stories are inspirational messages. The positive response has been overwhelming.

One of the goals of IAM Strong is to bring programs to the community that would help shatter the stigma of mental health issues. The organization also hopes to sponsor suicide prevention programs as well as support groups for parents dealing with mental health issues within their families. “We want to normalize the discussion around mental health,” says Jordanides. “Mental health is just as important as physical health. It’s about whole health.”

The 5k Run/Walk on May 3rd will be the first official fundraising event for the IAM Strong Foundation. It is both an opportunity to help contribute to the mission of IAM Strong as well as a chance to band together as a community to support mental health for all adolescents. Details about how to participate can be found at www.iamstrongfoundation.org. There will be a 1.5 mile option for those who are interested in a shorter route.

When people describe Isabelle Medina, they talk about her infectious energy, her humor, and her genuine kindness. Through its mission, IAM Strong honors her. The letters ‘IAM’ are her initials. Isabelle shared happiness and laughter with those around her, and her acts of kindness are long remembered by those whom she touched. Her beautiful spirit propels this organization forward, to bring comfort to those struggling with mental health issues, and to bring change to the world.

To register for the 5k Run/Walk, go to www.iamstrongfoundation.org. Pre-registration extends through April 11th. To check out the IAM Strong Instagram page, go to @iam.strong.foundation. Their facebook page is at www.facebook.com/IAMStrongFoundation.