For Suicide Awareness and Prevention
Supporting
Labor Day - Monday, September 1
- 7:00 a.m. - Registration Opens
- 8:00 am - 1 Mile Fun Run/Scenic Walk
- 8:30 am - 5K Run/Walk
- 7:00 am - 10 am - Mental Health Fair
- 7:00 am - 10 am - Memory Lane
- All parking onsite with Attendants
Event Location
JR Alford Greenway, 2500 Pedrick Road, Tallahassee, FL
Packet Pickup
Packet pickup is scheduled for Thursday, August 28 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm at REI Coop Tallahassee, Market Square Shopping Center, 1415 Timberlane Rd #201.
Brook's Story
Looking forward to her final year of high school, Brook Bowers was already a state finalist swimmer, top of her class academically, an accomplished musician and the most popular kid in her class. Pretty, smart, fun and athletic. She looked forward to a bright future as she fell in love for the first time.
On a wintry Wisconsin day her world imploded. She found her boyfriend dead in his parents’ home. He died by suicide.
Could anyone ever understand the depth of her pain?
The denial and utter devastation of losing her first love to suicide, the voices in her head, therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, medications, cognitive behavioral therapy, cutting herself, emergency rooms, high school graduation in a drug-induced stupor shunned by friends, dialectical behavior therapy, new medications, electro-convulsion therapy, six months in “the hospital” where her weight doubled on new meds, fighting her way to a college degree, chumming with social workers in the psych ward because they had seen her so many times that they were like buddies, deploring that she hurt her parents, eye-movement-desensitization-and-reprocessing therapy, job after job that she shined for a day and couldn’t hold for a month, leaving a woman she loved because “she deserved better,” losing her friends to addiction and suicide, single and living with her parents at age 30.
Fifteen years bravely striving for normalcy, repeatedly returning to unbearable pain.
In 2012, at the age of 31, Brook died by suicide. Hopelessness killed her. Despite the continued best efforts of her family, friends and mental health care team, she could no longer endure the pain of her mental health condition.
Stories like Brook’s are seldom told. Most are covered up with platitudes in hushed tones. The stark truth is that suicide is an impactful, pervasive challenge in modern society affecting both victims and survivors of suicide loss.
Brook’s family and friends have embraced this challenge. Since 2015, the Bluebird Run and Walk for Brookie B – for suicide awareness and prevention – has honored the legacies of our loved ones lost to suicide. We have gathered every Labor Day to support each other through this touching community event. We hope you will join us.
Bluebird Custom Tee
Bluebird Custom T-shirts are available in Youth, Men's Crew Neck, and Women's V-Neck styles in a wide range of sizes. You will be offered a full list of styles and sizes during registration or you can choose No Shirt.
If you want to get Bluebird shirts for your kids, or parents, or anyone who is not participating, just click on [Sign up Now!] and select the Non-participant T-Shirt.
Volunteer for Bluebird Day
It takes a lot of generous volunteers to put on the Bluebird. There is much to be done in the days leading up to Bluebird Day and much to be done Labor Day morning before the races begin.
We truly appreciate you and all who participate as runners and walkers. But if you’re ready to take an extra step in your support of better mental health, suicide awareness and prevention, we have a service opportunity for you. We need a few more people to help with preparations on Saturday and Sunday of that weekend. We could use more help Labor Day morning before the races with set-up and parking. And if you have energy left after the races, we can always use help packing up.
It takes just a couple of minutes to register as a Bluebird Volunteer. You even get a free Bluebird Volunteer T-shirt. After you register, we will contact you personally to be sure you have a volunteer assignment that suits you and to provide further instructions. Thank you!!
Sponsor Bluebird Day
Bluebird and NAMI Tallahassee deeply appreciate our sponsors and always welcome new sponsors. Your tax deductible* sponsorship will help NAMI Tallahassee in our efforts to build even more support for families who have experienced suicide loss and for those who fear that that loss may be looming for them. We are working to increase suicide awareness, attract more volunteers, and offer trainings in suicide prevention, thus broadening our ability to move our community towards a brighter future without suicide.
Our Sponsor Opportunity Form details the sponsorship levels available and the benefits you will enjoy as a benefactor. Choose your sponsorship level, then use our Sponsor Registation Form.
* NAMI Tallahassee is a 501(c)(3) registered charity.
JR Alford Bluebird Trail
Did you know that Leon County Parks has designated and marked a permanent Bluebird Trail At JR Alford Greenway based on our annual 5K run/walk? We are literally on the map. They made a small adjustment at the start to accommodate their regular mowing patterns and added a small jog a little past our one-mile mark. So, the official county Bluebird Trail is either 3.3 miles or 3.5 miles, depending on which sign you believe. Although it will not be a measured 5K, it is marked and available during all daylight hours. So get out there and enjoy!
Please join us in recognizing and thanking all our generous Sponsors:
