Foundation seeks support

Dear Editor:March 2, 2010 marked one year since my son, Sean, took his life at UC Santa Barbara. The purpose of this letter is not to commemorate his death but to seek support from residents and business members of the city of Downey. On Feb. 23, myself and friends of Sean attended the Downey City Council meeting seeking a permit to have a 5K run/walk that would start at Stonewood Center and go on to Woodruff Avenue to East Middle School and back to Stonewood. The run is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 11, 2010, which is the last day of the National Suicide Prevention Week. After my emotional presentation, members of our City Council voiced their concern over setting a precedent by closing Woodruff for approximately one hour. The Council voted 4-1 to have the matter brought back April 13. They instructed city staffers to survey the residents along the route of the run/walk. The request to the city to have this run began in June of 2009 and is now delayed another two months. Myself and other members of the Amazing Day Foundation elected to start a digital petition seeking support from residents and Downey business people. The goal is to make Downey residents and business members aware of the Amazing Day Foundation purpose and to seek support for the event. To find out more about the foundation, you may visit the Web page at www.amazingdayfoundation.org. You may find the digitized petition at www.ipetitions.com/petition/amazingdayfoundation/. The reason for the 5K run/walk is twofold: to raise awareness of the loss of lives to suicide, and as a fundraiser. Please visit the petition page, and if you agree and are willing, please sign the petition. - Bob Feliciano, Downey

********** Published: March 5, 2010 - Volume 8 - Issue 46