Chatham Mayor Thanks Out Of The Darkness Walk Participants

CHATHAM, NJ — Dear Editor:

I want to personally thank the more than 325 walkers who participated in the 2nd Annual Chatham Township Out of the Darkness Walk at Cougar Field. Under a beautiful sunny sky they helped shine the light on suicide prevention and raised more than $72,000 (to date) for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. This brings our two year Walk fundraising total to more than $145,000!

We could not have been as successful if it were not for our Walk Committee. I particularly want to thank Chatham Borough Committeeman Len Resto, Chatham Township Detective Anthony Loporto, Valerie and Bob Olpp, Angeli and Noah Breen, Nancy Kislin and the many others who gave of their time to make the Walk such a success. Special thanks also goes to Congressman Rodney Frelinghuysen, Governor Dick Codey, and Liz Roithmayr, New Jersey Area Director for the AFSP, for their support.

I also want to thank our sponsors for their support, including: Gold Sponsors: The Riley Charities, Green Village Fire Department, and Hickory Tree Landscaping, Silver Sponsors: FreshZenGirl and Madison Area YMCA, and Bronze Sponsors: Chatham Township PBA Local 170, D.J. Crater LLC, DJ Tomas, Hickory Tree Delicatessen, Investors Bank, and The Chatham Club.

Our top fundraising teams were: MadisonsRaeOfHope.com, Adam's Vaziracles, Matt's Crew 2017, Tommy Fuss Team, and Team Nancy. While our top individual fundraisers were: Len Resto, Caitlin Long, Jerri Torres, Sydney Gotsch and family, and Lily Jay. Thank you for your amazing efforts!

We are already looking forward to hosting the 3rd Annual Chatham Township Out of the Darkness Walk next September. We encourage individuals interested in getting involved to like our Facebook page @AFSPChathamTwp or to email me directly at curt.ritter@gmail.com Thank you again for your support, together we can make a difference.

Curt Ritter

Mayor Chatham Township

Images via Curt Ritter