North Carolina Legion Riders raise awareness about veteran suicide prevention mission while bringing in funds for local nonprofit.
It was another great effort by North Carolina’s American Legion Riders over the weekend. The fourth annual “Be The One” Suicide Prevention Charity Ride had more than 100 participants and raised more than $5,700 for the local chapter of a national suicide prevention and awareness nonprofit.
The funds raised this year are going to the North Carolina chapter of The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a nonprofit that focuses on eliminating the loss of life from suicide by delivering innovative prevention programs, educating the public about risk factors and warning signs, raising funds for suicide research and programs, and reaching out to those individuals who have been affected by suicide.
The ride took place April 11 and spanned a six-county area, starting in Fayetteville, N.C., and finishing up on the former grounds of Burton-Cowell American Legion Post 265 in Jacksonville, with American Legion Riders from multiple chapters taking part in the ride. Post 265 was completely destroyed during a recent tornado.
At the conclusion of the ride, there was a car, truck, jeep and bike show at the Onslow County Fairgrounds behind where Post 265 previously stood.
“We had around 105 vehicles on the ride,” event organizer and Department of North Carolina’s Be the One Prevention of Suicide Committee vice chair Valerie Rayner said. “We had six vehicles. I know we had about 30 vendors, six food trucks, and there might have been around 130 (vehicles) in the car show. And I’m going to guesstimate that we had around 1,000 people in and out of the fairgrounds all day.”
The ride had support both from local law enforcement and various public officials, including Cumberland County Commissioners Chairman Kirk deViere, Goldsboro Mayor Pro Tem Beverly Weeks and Jacksonville Mayor Pro Tem Cindy Edwards. And members of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association provided a blessing of the bikes along the route.
To Rayner, that kind of support “says that this is bigger than any one of us. And that some way, someone has been touched by (suicide) in some form or fashion, whether it was directly or was by word of mouth. And Commissioner deViere said … he was proud that an event like this started in the county where he is from.”
Rayner – a member of Hair & Matthews Post 32 in Hope Mills – recently shared how she has dealt with her own mental health after developing post-traumatic stress disorder during her 23-year military service that included deploying to Iraq.
“This is something that affects everyone – not just veterans,” she said. “That’s why it’s important to have events like this. Everyone needs to be aware.”
- Be the One