(July 7, 2016) Though Jesse’s Paddle is still a little more than a week away, organizers said it’s the perfect time to register a team for the July 16 event.
“It’s fun — suicide is kind of a dour topic, but this event is a good time, and it’s very important to us,” Ron Pilling, board member of the Jesse Klump Memorial Fund, said.
Registration for Jesse’s Paddle will begin at 4 p.m. on the day of the event, which will have boats in the water at 5 p.m. The paddle will take place at the Pocomoke River Canoe Company on Snow Hill Road, close to the drawbridge at the north end of town.
Returning this year is the “poker run” format, where participants will track down five boats stationed along the river, each offering a single playing card enclosed in an envelope. From these cards, teams will create poker hands, and the three best hands are eligible for prizes.
Earlier this week, Pilling said between 10-12 teams had already registered and he expects the number to grow.
“This event is key to our ability to do two things — fully fund the annual scholarship we provide based on altruism, and all of the excess goes to our prevention programs. We spend very little on administration and outreach,” he said.
Snow Hill High School student Katie Cherrix was awarded the 2016 scholarship in early June.
For the past five years, the scholarship has been worth $12,000, or $3,000 annually, and Pilling hopes this level of support continues.
“The suicide rate varies every year, but in 2014, Worcester had the highest rate of any county in the state, with almost 12 per 100,000 people,” he said. “The national average is around 11, and the state is between 8-9.”
Because Worcester’s population is about 51,000, each notation counts double for statistical purposes.
In a report released July 1 examining 2012 suicide rates in 17 states including Maryland, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found people involved in the farming, fishing and forestry industries had the highest rate of suicide at 84.5 per 100,000, followed by mining and construction workers at 53.3 per 100,000 as well as maintenance, repair and installation at 47.9 per 100,000.
Pilling said the data pointed to available jobs in rural counties, and most of Worcester County qualifies as rural.
“It’s not something that can be written off as a “teenage thing” or a phase. If you suspect something, you’ve got to ask the question: Are you thinking of ending your life?” Pilling said.
In the fund’s annual report last year, Pilling said, four cases were highlighted as success stories.
“Someone saw a presentation or looked at our materials and now someone is still alive,” Pilling said.
In 99 out of 100 cases in his experience, Pilling said, people contemplating ending their lives put out a signal either behaviorally by changing something substantially, or by making declarations or even in reaction to personal circumstances.
“If there’s a family history, if someone has lost a job or another cataclysmic event within a family or if they indicate their life has no purpose,” can all be considered warning signs, he said.
Getting this information to people who can make use of it is the goal, Pilling said, and to do that, the Jesse Klump Memorial Fund has set a goal to raise $20,000 this year, and it’s well on its way.
“We’ve raised about $9,000 already, plus some more from the kayak raffle and will get a little more online,” he said. This is only the third year the fund has used online fundraising.
The event will also feature a silent auction, which will focus on activity-based prizes such as quilting or watercolor lessons from local practitioners, free food and music by local duo Gabe and Gigi.
Online donations can be made at www.jessespaddle.donorpages.com/JessesPaddle2016.
“It’s fun — suicide is kind of a dour topic, but this event is a good time, and it’s very important to us,” Ron Pilling, board member of the Jesse Klump Memorial Fund, said.
Registration for Jesse’s Paddle will begin at 4 p.m. on the day of the event, which will have boats in the water at 5 p.m. The paddle will take place at the Pocomoke River Canoe Company on Snow Hill Road, close to the drawbridge at the north end of town.
Returning this year is the “poker run” format, where participants will track down five boats stationed along the river, each offering a single playing card enclosed in an envelope. From these cards, teams will create poker hands, and the three best hands are eligible for prizes.
Earlier this week, Pilling said between 10-12 teams had already registered and he expects the number to grow.
“This event is key to our ability to do two things — fully fund the annual scholarship we provide based on altruism, and all of the excess goes to our prevention programs. We spend very little on administration and outreach,” he said.
Snow Hill High School student Katie Cherrix was awarded the 2016 scholarship in early June.
For the past five years, the scholarship has been worth $12,000, or $3,000 annually, and Pilling hopes this level of support continues.
“The suicide rate varies every year, but in 2014, Worcester had the highest rate of any county in the state, with almost 12 per 100,000 people,” he said. “The national average is around 11, and the state is between 8-9.”
Because Worcester’s population is about 51,000, each notation counts double for statistical purposes.
In a report released July 1 examining 2012 suicide rates in 17 states including Maryland, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found people involved in the farming, fishing and forestry industries had the highest rate of suicide at 84.5 per 100,000, followed by mining and construction workers at 53.3 per 100,000 as well as maintenance, repair and installation at 47.9 per 100,000.
Pilling said the data pointed to available jobs in rural counties, and most of Worcester County qualifies as rural.
“It’s not something that can be written off as a “teenage thing” or a phase. If you suspect something, you’ve got to ask the question: Are you thinking of ending your life?” Pilling said.
In the fund’s annual report last year, Pilling said, four cases were highlighted as success stories.
“Someone saw a presentation or looked at our materials and now someone is still alive,” Pilling said.
In 99 out of 100 cases in his experience, Pilling said, people contemplating ending their lives put out a signal either behaviorally by changing something substantially, or by making declarations or even in reaction to personal circumstances.
“If there’s a family history, if someone has lost a job or another cataclysmic event within a family or if they indicate their life has no purpose,” can all be considered warning signs, he said.
Getting this information to people who can make use of it is the goal, Pilling said, and to do that, the Jesse Klump Memorial Fund has set a goal to raise $20,000 this year, and it’s well on its way.
“We’ve raised about $9,000 already, plus some more from the kayak raffle and will get a little more online,” he said. This is only the third year the fund has used online fundraising.
The event will also feature a silent auction, which will focus on activity-based prizes such as quilting or watercolor lessons from local practitioners, free food and music by local duo Gabe and Gigi.
Online donations can be made at www.jessespaddle.donorpages.com/JessesPaddle2016.