RICHMOND, Va. - The 10th annual SpeakUp 5K, which raises awareness about teen depression and anxiety, is Saturday, Sept. 9 at Byrd Park in Richmond.
Grace Gallagher, the executive director of the Cameron K. Gallagher Foundation, said the event has made a big impact.
“We've actually been able to raise money to get real programs to the students and to these kids,” Grace Gallagher said in 2022.
The organization is named after Grace's daughter, Cameron, who died of an undiagnosed heart condition in 2014.
"She was running a half marathon and she was doing that to fight her depression," Grace Gallagher said.
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Speak Up 5K hopes to ease mental health stigma: 'There were no warning signs'
Before Cameron's passing, the teen had planned a 5K.
"I think the first thing is a conversation about how important it is to be proactive with your mental health — not reactive. Don't wait till there's a crisis," Grace Gallagher explained. "Just like you do with your physical health, have a mental health plan ready for you, because you never know when it's gonna come and something might hit that you weren't expecting."
It was Cameron’s dream to normalize the conversation about mental health.
"She finally got to a place where she said, I am Cameron Gallagher, and I have depression," Grace Gallagher recalled. "I am not depression, and we should celebrate the whole person and that's what this is about."
Click hereto learn more about the event as well as how to sign up.
WTVR CBS 6 anchors Bill Fitzgerald and Tracy Sears will serve as emcees.
WTVR CBS 6 is a proud sponsor of the event.
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