During the fifth annual Dash for Compassion, Union College PA students are raising money for one of their own, a classmate’s family who lost their beloved son/brother to suicide this past spring.
On average, 42,773 Americans die of suicide each year. Because insurance policies have clauses excluding suicide-related expenses from coverage, families who lose a loved one are often left with overwhelming medical and funeral-related debt while grieving. Families spend over $44 billion annually in the aftermath of suicides, suicide attempts and suicidal behaviors. This year’s Dash for Compassion will help one family as they deal with this tragedy.
The five kilometer race will take place at Pioneers Park on October 8, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. Registration starts at 9:30 a.m.
The Dash for Compassion was created in 2013 by Anne Mullin, now a Union College alumna. The idea came to her while attending an annual physician assistant conference in Washington, D.C. “We got the idea from another PA student who we met at the conference,” Mullin explained in a 2013 interview. “As PA students, our purpose is always to serve and help people with our knowledge and compassion. By forming this philanthropic partnership, we will be exhibiting the compassion and medical service that has come to define our profession.”
Dash for Compassion is just one of the ways through which Union College PA students demonstrate the responsible servanthood modeled by Christ. Students engage in in their community through service all year, such as at Project Impact in September, supporting the Union College Foot Clinic once a month during the academic year, and providing free medical care in Peru every summer.
Everyone who registers for this event will receive a t-shirt and also be entered into a drawing for prizes from local organizations.
Support your community, show compassion, and please participate in this event.
By Nicole Gansemer