In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF) will hold its Second Annual Teen Race of Hope to Defeat Depression in Manhattan at Pier 76 Hudson River Park on Sunday, May 19, 2024.
HDRF created Teen Race to provide teens and their families with a screen-free occasion to connect, be active, and raise mental health awareness. The event is organized with a working group of teen leaders from different public and private schools throughout New York City.
HDRF hosts a Race of Hope annually in Palm Beach and Southampton, but the Teen Race of Hope is specifically focused on what experts say is an alarming collapse of adolescent mental health in the United States.
Hayden Lucas, a senior at Dwight High School on the Upper West Side, serves as Lead Student Ambassador. Noelle Saldana, a junior at Fieldston School in the Bronx, will join Hayden as Co-Lead Student Ambassador.
“We want to reach far into our City’s communities to empower teens to openly discuss mental health and reinforce their sense of community,” Lucas said.
“As teens we need to recognize the signs of depression and do what we can do to support our peers,” added Saldana.
Lucas and Saldana will be joined by 19 student ambassadors from throughout the city, as they lead participants on a beautiful 5K (3.1) mile route along the Hudson River esplanade and public piers. Schools represented include: Chapin, Dalton, Dwight, Fieldston School, Grace Church, John Bowne, Nightingale-Bamford, Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, Marymount, Phillips Exeter Academy, Red Bank Catholic, Renaissance Charter School, Speyer Legacy, Stuyvesant, and Trevor Day School.
While some participants will choose to run this event competitively, others will opt to walk or stroll with their friends. No matter their age or speed, all racers are united in a common purpose – to support research into new treatments for depression and to fight the stigma still associated with seeking help.
The state of teen mental health is urgent, with a surge in depression and anxiety among our youth. More than one in three high school students reported feeling persistent sadness and hopelessness, a 40% increase since 2009, according to a recent national survey. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for ages 15 to 19; and almost 4,000 children and teens attempt suicide every day.
The working committee of Teen Race Ambassadors includes: Mia Abramson, Marni Arons, Anysa Bickici, Alva Carlston, Ethan Criollo, Hannah Diker, Sophie Higgins, Abigail Kidd, Tanner Klipstein, Ruby McKillips, Hayden Lucas, Summer Nelson, Sophia Rossi, Noelle Saldana, Bryan Samaniego, Gui Sequiera, Ai Vy Shulman, Jennifer Tatu, and Sienna Vadi.
5K Race of Hope Sponsors
Balmain Paris, Hudson River Park
Participants include professional and first-time runners, teens, school teams families, and children. Strollers and dogs are welcome. To participate, please visit https://www.nycteen.raceofhopeseries.com/
First 550 registrants receive a commemorative t-shirt, race hat, race bib and huge finisher medal; and medals are awarded for best time in different age categories as well as for the top individual fundraiser and top fundraising team.
Registration Information:
· Date: Sunday, May 19, 2024
· Meeting Point: Pier 76, Hudson River Park at 408 12th Ave West, Manhattan, NY 10018
- Time: Race starts at 10:00 AM ET
- Cost: Student – $17.50/ Adult – $27.50
- Strollers and Dogs welcome
About Hope for Depression Research Foundation:
HDRF was founded in 2006 by philanthropist Audrey Gruss in memory of her mother Hope, who struggled with clinical depression. The mission of the HDRF is to spur the most innovative brain research into the origins, medical diagnosis, new treatments, and prevention of depression and its related mood disorders – bipolar disorder, postpartum depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, and suicide. The World Health Organization has declared depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide, and yet conventional medications today are outdated and do not fully work for 50% of patients. HDRF is working tirelessly to improve the mental health landscape for every American. The Foundation has provided more than $75 million through over 200 grants for breakthrough depression research that promises to transform the way depression is viewed, diagnosed, treated and prevented. Currently, HDRF has a potential new class of medication in pilot clinical trials at Mount Sinai Medical Center, and Stanford University. HDRF is also funding clinical trials into other novel therapeutics and diagnostic tests at Johns Hopkins, University of San Diego, and the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
