Raising Your Awareness about Narcotics is in loving memory of Ryan Vincent Kelder. His life was claimed on August 22, 2015 by a progressive and deadly drug addiction. He was just one month shy of his 25th birthday. It has never been harder for us, his family and friends, to believe that "everything happens for a reason". Still we are determined to make sure that Ryan's death, and especially his life, continue to have a purpose beyond what even Ryan could have imagined.
The first annual R.Y.A.N. Kelder Awareness Run/Walk to Raise Your Awareness about Narcotics took place on October 25th, 2015. Our initial purpose was to honor Ryan and share his story. We wanted to work towards eliminating the stigma attached to addiction and start an open community discussion. With the support of more than 400 participants, we accomplished so much more than that. We not only honored Ryan, we were able to:
- Launch a letter campaign to state and local politicians asking for funding for treatment services
- Provide the public with information regarding prescription drugs and addiction
- Donate more than $8000 dollars to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Saugerties and Kingston for drug awareness and prevention programs for club members and their families
- Provide scholarships to children to attend Kingston Parks and Rec Summer Camp
- Sponsor the “week 3 field trip” for the Mac Fit Kids Summer Program to Sports Cone
We hope to continue to raise public awareness in our community regarding the faces of addiction. The disease of addiction does not discriminate, and it is our belief that we must do all that we can to help bring awareness to the forefront.
We urge you to join us at future R.Y.A.N. events throughout the year. The proceeds from every event go directly to organizations in our community that provide healthy programs for our youth.