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Video by Patty Stocker
For the past 11 years, Westford resident Nancy Cook, and the local suicide prevention group she leads, Team Forever Young, has participated in dozens of Out of the Darkness Walks. These 16 – 18 mile dusk-until-dawn journeys not only raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention but they also hope to cast a light on the growing number of suicides in this country and to remember those who have taken their own lives.
On Saturday, Feb. 1, Team Forever Young, and its presenting sponsor, the Lowell Sun Charities, held its second annual Team Forever Young Gala, at the UMass Lowell Inn and Conference Center, to a sold out crowd. More than $45k was raised for the AFSP through ticket sales, silent actions, raffles, and sponsors.
After a spirited cocktail reception dinner was served, in the dining room guests were inspired by the handful of speakers, including U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA 3rd District), the CEO of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Robert Gebbia, Nancy Roberts, Chair of Lowell Sun Charities, and Brianna Browne, the keynote speaker from Atlanta, who is the only person to survive a jump off the Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge in Williamson County, Tennessee.
As of Feb. 11, Team Forever Young has raised over $616k for the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention, according to Cook.
For more information on how you can get involved with Team Forever Young, go to their home page “Out of the Darkness — Team Forever Young” on Facebook.
