Photos: Fundraiser Walks Held on Saturday
photos by Vanessa Fournier
Sharon Moffatt (left) and Michelle Warren (right) carry the Craftsbury Mental Health Resource Group banner and were followed by the 50 walkers who participated in the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMIVT) Walk around the Common in Craftsbury October 9. As of October 10, the Craftsbury team had raised $5,700 and are one of the top fundraising teams for all of NAMIVT Twenty walkers met at the old train depot in Greensboro Bend October 9 for the start of the 2nd Annual Walk for AWARE fundraiser. Twelve walked the entire seven-mile hike on the rail trail from The Bend to Hardwick. Rachel Kane of East Hardwick provided snacks for the walkers three miles from where they had started. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. An In Memory Of board with photos of those who had taken their own lives was acknowledged at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMIVT) Walk held in Craftsbury on October 9. The event was hosted by the Craftsbury Mental Health Resource Group. Pictures on the board (from left): Wesley Warren, who took his own life in 2017 at age 25; Erin Simmons in 2019 at age 26; Hannah Fernald in 2020 at age 25; Anthony Lowe in 2016 at age 34. Speakers before the walk included Pastor Kim Larose, Michelle Warren, Joan Simmons and Lisa (Fernald) Barry Volunteers for the Craftsbury Mental Health Resource Group (from left) Jane Hanson, Susan Houston, Michelle Warren and Pastor Kim Larose plant tulips at the United Church after the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMIVT) Walk on Saturday. At the NAMI convention this year, one of their projects was called the Yellow Tulip Project. The Craftsbury group decided to do the Hope Gardens project by planting 500 tulips around Craftsbury. Some are planted at the United Church, the public library, Craftsbury Academy, Craftsbury Outdoor Center, Sterling College, town hall and the Craftsbury Community Care Center. The project is almost completed.