Cate Elgin (left) and Alina Hecht (right)

The local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is hesitant to call its second annual NAMIWalks event Oct. 8 a seasoned fundraiser, but the event has grown from the inaugural walk a year ago. NAMI Colorado Springs held its first NAMIWalks event in 2021, driven by pandemic-fueled necessity. ​ Kirk Woundy, director of strategy and operations, said that for years, NAMI Colorado Springs raised a large portion of its annual budget via a spring benefit breakfast. In May 2019, it raised $250,000. When COVID led to the cancellation of that event in 2020, the NAMI staff had to turn to other fundraising opportunities. ​ “We were lucky that the national office of NAMI had the infrastructure to help local affiliates launch new walks,” Woundy said. “We were learning on our feet last year, but we had plenty of marketing and organizing assets to rely on.” ​ This year, the event will be held Oct. 8 from 10 a.m. to noon in Monument Valley Park behind the Fine Arts Center. The planned c ourse measures between 3 and 4 km, to align with trails that are easiest to follow. In part because of $15,000 presenting sponsorships from both Cedar Springs Hospital and GE Johnson Foundation, NAMI staff felt comfortable in setting a $175,000 fundraising goal for the event. By the second week of September, the $101,065 raised amounted to 58% of the goal.

Cate Elgin (left) and Alina Hecht (right)

​ It costs nothing to participate, and those who sign up at namiwalks.org/coloradosprings can easily access templates for fundraising emails and social media posts to help recruit supporters. And while walkers are welcome to participate regardless of how much they raise, NAMI is offering incentives for reaching fundraising milestones for individuals, gifts such as jackets, shirts, drones, a cooler, and a Bose Bluetooth speaker. ​ The national NAMI was founded in Madison, WI in 1979, and is now headquartered in Arlington, VA. The local affiliate, a completely independent 501(c)3, was founded in 1983 by Stella Colby and Julie Foster, two parents of adult children with serious mental illness. The local branch was all-volunteer until 2012, when the board hired NAMI’s first paid executive director, Lori Jarvis. During its volunteer years and subsequent decade with paid staff, NAMI has expanded from programs and support groups focusing on family members to a range of programs for those living with mental health conditions as well as community education programs. Last year,  more than 3,000 people accessed some form of NAMI support. All are no-cost and led by trained peers.

​ As in its initial year, the NAMIWalks event welcomes individual registrants as well as teams. By mid-September, 157 individuals and 37 teams had signed up. Leashed, well-behaved dogs are welcome to participate. In addition to the GE Johnson Foundation and Cedar Springs, more  than a dozen sponsors have joined the NAMIWalks effort. Staff members Kelly Spieker and Lara Ostenberg are working on event details, and Misty Banta is walk manager. ​ There are a number of 5k walks and runs locally and across the nation, supporting such health causes as epilepsy research, school-based suicide prevention, and surviving cancer. NAMI is workin g on ways to differentiate its walk from others during a busy fall season, to include a warmup with “Dork Dancing” (dorkdancing.com) and a poetry reading by Pikes Peak Poet Laureate Ashley Cornelius. A large “I Hope Board” near the Walk start will allow participants and their families to leave spontaneous art or inspirational messages for other participants. NAMI is centered on principles of peer-to-peer assistance, so an art board that encourages ties between walkers represents an ideal instantiation of that peer model.

​ October 8-9 also is Colorado College’s homecoming weekend, which Woundy cited as a factor that may drive more spectators to the event. CC’s “NAMI On Campus” group will be part of the Walk. ​ Next year will be the 40th anniversary of NAMI Colorado Springs, so Woundy hopes an expansion of the 2022 walk will serve as a springboard to an even larger walk in 2023. NAMI’s staff feels confident about bringing back an indoor event for the 40th anniversary; Woundy said Jarvis and the board of directors will be leading discussions about an evening event to augment next year’s walk. ​ “A year ago, we were operating out of necessity in turning to NAMIWalks,” Woundy said. “Now, as we enter what everyone hopes will be a post-Covid environment, it still makes sense to host an accessible, fun, awareness-raising outdoor fundraising event for as long as we can.”