WATA CUMI Come Run targets $5m
Published:Tuesday | September 15, 2015 | 3:02 PM
MONTEGO BAY:
The Committee for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill (CUMI) is targeting $5 million at this year's annual WATA CUMI Come Run, which takes place on Saturday at the Tryall Club.
The charity 5K/10K, which will be powered by WATA, is the major fundraising activity to bolster the CUMI Trust, which assists in the rehabilitation of mentally ill persons in St James and its environs.
Co-founder of CUMI, nurse Joy Crooks, is appealing to citizens to support the charity event as the committee aims to meet its goals.
"For the past 24 years, CUMI has given its services, including medication, free of cost to persons with mental illness. We are happy to be able to host the event for the seventh year and are grateful for the support thus far. Each year, the Come Run plays a very important role in the sustenance of CUMI, and each dollar donated pays the monthly expenses to keep our doors open," Crooks said.
The donation for participating in the WATA Come Run is $4,500 and includes a signature Tryall
breakfast. Interested persons may visit the Running Events website at runningeventsja.com to sign up and the CUMI website (cumimobay.org) for more information on the race and about the organisation.
Since 1990, CUMI has rehabilitated thousands of mentally ill persons through strategic partnerships with community clinics, the regional psychiatric department and Type-V health centre and faith-based organisations in the Second City.
CUMI's Rehabilitation Day Centre, which was opened 14 years ago, aims to restructure the lives of persons living with mental illness by framing day-to-day activities in the hope of teaching them to regain a rhythm of life as they learn how to cope with managing their mental-health challenges.
CUMI's vision, added Crooks, is to "rehabilitate the individual and reunite them in the community with families, friends and, if at all possible, as productive individuals who can contribute to their own sustainability".
The run will be managed by Running Events and begins promptly at 7 a.m.