Contact

/ Julie Küss

Telephone

/ 719.243.9033

Email

/

Website

/ Theascentchurch.com/5K
/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 12, 2018

2018 Run to the Ascent | 5K for Schools

2nd Annual Color Fun Run and Competitive 5K for Schools

All proceeds from the race will be donated to local schools for the prevention of suicide.

Monument, CO, April 12, 2018– The Ascent Church has announced it is once again organizing theAnnual Run to the Ascent |5K for Schools. This Second AnnualColor FunRunand Competitive 5K for Schools will be held Saturday, June 16th in Monument from 8am -12pm. This event is both a competitive event as well as a fun, family and student-centered fundraiser to support our local D20 and D38 schools, focusing on the prevention of teen suicide.

“We, the pastors and members ofThe Ascent Church, dearly love our community. We’re grateful for our schools and how they serve our students; and we want to partner with them to continue the fight against teen suicide. We are also heartbroken by the struggles our teens are battling. Proceeds from the Run to the Ascent – 5K for Schools will be donated to our D20 and D38 school districts for suicide prevention initiatives. Let’s continue to work to stop this tragedy in its tracks and end teen suicides together! It’s time to climb!”

Pastors Rusty Hayes and Brian Petak

Activities for the whole family:

  • For the competitive folks, the event will be a chip timed, wave start
  • Age group race awards
  • Live music, food, vendors and more
  • Kids fun run and obstacle course
  • Teen challenges
  • Sponsor gifts
  • More than 500 pounds of color!
  • Awards for best school spirit

History

The Ascent Church started the Run to The Ascent 5K in 2017 as a direct response to the suicide crisis that had engulfed the community in 2016 and 2017. According to KRCC.org and Levi Johnson, a therapist at Pikes Peak Suicide Prevention,“between 17 and 18 El Paso County teens completed suicide in 2016, with eight of those suicides occurring in as many months”.The community was reeling and completely stunned by the phenomenon. At the same time, schools were scrambling to find solutions to help students, teachers, parents and the entire community navigate this horrible, devastating crisis. They were not equipped to fully help grieving students and stop this growing monster in its tracks before suicide claimed yet another life. El Paso County had now topped the nation in teen suicide deaths.

The goal of the first 5K Run was to create a family friendly event that would encourage the community to come together to raise funds and help schools implement programs or produce materials to help students cope with and prevent future suicides. A team of volunteers came together quickly and developed a plan to raise a modest goal of $5,000 from this first event, hoping to recruit approximately 100 runners to participate.

The results of that First Annual 5K event were nothing if not stunning. 350 runners participated in the first eventwith over 100 volunteers working an astounding number of hours to make this first event as successful as possible. The results?

The event succeeded in raising exactly $20,000. A completely unreal amount for a first time event of this kind. The proceeds were then donated to two D20 and two D38 High Schools: Lewis Palmer, Palmer Ridge, Discovery Canyon and The Classical Academy. Before the Ascent reached out to the schools with their donation, each school was in the process of investigating a ground breakingprogram called Sources of Strength(sourcesofstrength.org). Sources of Strength is one of the first suicide prevention programs that uses Peer Leaders to enhance factors associated with reducing suicide at the school population level. The cost of implementing this peer led program - $5,000 for each school campus!

With one successful year under our belt, the 2018 Annual Run to the Ascent| 5K Color Fun Run for Schoolswill continue to raise funds to support the Sources of Strength program in the four original school funded and potentially fund programs in other schools.

We encourage everyone, young and old, to stand with The Ascent Church as we support our community and provide resources to our local schools to help prevent teen suicide. This tragic crisis in our area is not okay and we need to gather together as a community and FIGHT to help SAVE our kids.

To donate, register or sponsor the Run to the Ascent | 5K for Schools and Suicide Prevention, log on TODAY at .

# # #

If you would like more information, please contact Julie Küss

719.243.9033 .

Materials Available to the Media

  • ARTICLES A series of Articles written by students, family members, school staff and counselors, outlining the personal effects of suicide and the impact it has on the community as a whole. These engaging, original essays were created to educate readers that suicide impacts everyone, how to spot the signs of depression and how to help children who are left behind when a friend or acquaintance unexpectedly dies. The articles can be run individually or as a series.
  • INTERVIEWSAuthors of these articles are also available for interviews, upon request.
  • DROP BOX(

Includes:

  • A digital B-roll video to promote this year’s event.
  • Professional photos of last year’s run, runners, and the family festival following the event.

PSA

Monument, CO, April 12, 2018– The Ascent Church has announced it is organizing the SecondAnnual Run to the Ascent|5K for Schools. This 2nd Annual Color Fun Run and Competitive 5K for Schools will be held Saturday, June 16th in Monument from 8am -12pm. All proceeds from the race will be donated to local D20 and D38 schools for the prevention of teen suicide.

There will be activities for the whole family:

  • For the competitive folks, the event will be a chip timed, wave start
  • Age group race awards
  • Live music, food, vendors and more
  • Kids fun run and obstacle course
  • Teen challenges
  • Sponsor gifts
  • More than 500 pounds of color!
  • Awards for best school spirit

We encourage everyone, young and old, to stand with The Ascent Church as they gather support in our community and provide resources to our local schools to help prevent teen suicide. This tragic crisis in our area is not okay and we need to gather together as a community and FIGHT to help SAVE our kids.

***To donate, register or sponsor the Run to the Ascent | 5K for Schools and Suicide Prevention, log on TODAY at .***

Interview Opportunities:

  • Brian Petak, Executive Pastor of the Ascent Church and Event Chairman
  • Rusty Hayes, Sr. Pastor of The Ascent Church
  • Dieter Drake, Race Leadership
  • Kim Severn, School Counselor, Discovery Canyon Campus High School
  • ErnieRodriguez, Father to Henry Rodriguez, Discovery Canyon Student - 2017 Suicide Victim
  • Sara Miller, Student at The Classical Academy
  • Kathleen Miller, Parent of TCA Student Sara Miller

To schedule interviews, please contact Julie Küss at 719-243-9033.

Sources of Strength

Sources of Strength is a best practice youth suicide prevention project designed to harness the power of peer social networks to change unhealthy norms and culture, ultimately preventing suicide, bullying, and substance abuse. Their mission is to prevent suicide by increasing help seeking behaviors and promoting connections between peers and caring adults. Sources of Strength moves beyond a singular focus on risk factors by utilizing an upstream approach for youth suicide prevention. This upstream model strengthens multiple sources of support (protective factors) around young individuals so that when times get hard they have strengths to rely on (sourcesofstrength.org).

Local Statistics regarding Teen Suicide:

The Colorado Springs Gazette:Teen suicide capital: El Paso County's ‘heart-wrenching’ problem tops in the state, By:Debbie Kelley, November 20, 2016Updated: November 23, 2016 at 10:40 am

  • Comparative national statistics are only available from 2012 to 2014, and only for counties that had 20 or more suicide deaths. During that period, El Paso County did have the highest rate in the nation.
  • Experts caution that the numbers are difficult to analyze and compare because agencies that keep track use different age ranges and variables.
  • Between 2013 and 2015, suicide was listed as the cause of death for 46 El Paso County children and teenagers ages 10 to 19, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The Denver Channel: El Paso County's high suicide rates among adults, teens highlighted in Newsweek report, By Blair Miller, Posted 5:16 PM, Oct 19, 2016

  • [Newsweek] reports 13 teenagers have committed suicide in El Paso County so far this year (2016), which is one less than the total number of teen suicides in the county last year (2015).
  • Even more alarming, Newsweek reports five students out of 1,180 from the Discovery Canyon Campus killed themselves between late 2015 and summer 2016.
  • Suicide rates nationally are at a near-30-year high, andthe 1,058 people who committed suicide in Colorado last yearput the state seventh in the country –up by 2.9 suicides per 100,000 people from 2007.
  • In 2014, the suicide rate in Colorado Springs was 26.1 per 100,000 people.

Other information and statistics for teen suicide in El Paso County are available on-line at:

Newsweek, U.S.TEEN SUICIDE IS CONTAGIOUS, AND THE PROBLEM MAY BE WORSE THAN WE THOUGHT, BYMAX KUTNERON 10/19/16 AT 8:10 AM (Video Included)

Dept. Human Services, Not One More Child Coalition Meeting (PDF)

Youth Suicide in El Paso County, Sept. 26, 2016

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Course Map:

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