Businesses, food vendors and community groups are being invited to help power mental health support in west central Illinois.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness West Central Illinois is scheduled to host its inaugural NAMIWalks event at Community Park in Jacksonville Oct. 11, with organizers seeking sponsors and vendors to get involved, according to a community announcement.
The event is expected to draw hundreds of participants for a 5K fun run and 1-mile walk, raising funds and awareness for accessible, no-cost mental health programs across a 10-county region, according to the announcement.
NAMI is offering sponsorships starting at $100, which include marketing benefits such as logo placement, social media mentions and event recognition. Vendors, including food trucks, nonprofits and craft booths, are invited to participate without a vendor fee.
Organizers said 100% of funds raised are planned to stay local to support mental health programs.
“Be part of a positive, stigma-busting, community-building celebration,” the announcement said.
NAMI West Central Illinois serves Adams, Brown, Cass, Greene, Hancock, McDonough, Morgan, Pike, Schuyler and Scott counties.
Interested sponsors and vendors can learn more or sign up at namiwalks.org/wcil. For more information, contact Katie Neeley at katie@namiillinois.org.
This story was created by reporter Abreanna Blose, ablose@gannett.com, with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information gathering, review, editing and publishing process. Learn more at cm.usatoday.com/ethical-conduct.
This article originally appeared on The McDonough County Voice: NAMI hosts Oct. 11 mental health walk in Jacksonville