NAMIWalks on Record–Breaking Pace After “Day of Hope”

May 26, 2022

The NAMIWalks fundraising program is on a record-breaking pace following the “Spring United Day of Hope” on May 21, while NAMI’s New York City affiliate set a record-breaking milestone of its own.

Over the weekend, 27 NAMIWalks took place to promote awareness, raise funds and build community across the country. So far this year, a total of 123 NAMIWalks collectively have raised more than $7.3 million, a 24% increase over 2021. Total participants were up 77% over the same period. (All walks are following local COVID-19 guidelines.)

First the first time ever, an event held by a NAMI affiliate — NAMI-NYC — surpassed a total of $1 million raised for a single NAMIWalks event.

“NAMI-NYC is incredibly proud to have reached this $1 million record fundraising milestone for NAMIWalks,” said Matt Kudish, NAMI-NYC’s executive director. “We’re grateful to the 5,500 participants and our sponsors who helped make our free, multilingual mental health programs and services even more accessible to our community of 30,000 New Yorkers and growing.”

Dozens of additional NAMIWalks will be held throughout the year nationwide, primarily on Oct. 8 during Mental Illness Awareness Week. In March, NAMIWalks was awarded the distinction of Peer-to-Peer Fundraising Organization of the Year for achievements that included an increase of 31% in funds raised over 2020.