Hi Friends, You know how important it is to me (for many reasons) to help kids beat teen suicide, eating disorders, bullying, and stigma.  I'm sure you also have a personal connection to this cause.  As of 1/30/2012, I'm one mile behind in my training for the LA Full Marathon in March--so overall I think I'm in good shape to finish!  I run because kids need us.  Please skip Starbucks just for today and give the $5 to helping kids with these issues.  Thank you so much!  XO, Kyla

Why Run?

Do you know the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24? 

The answer is suicide.* 

Out of 100,000 kids...

...20.5 of those ages 10 to 24 will die by suicide in just 1 year, that we know of.  For every completed suicide, there are another 11 attempts that we don't hear about.  Many others aren't reported.  Why?  STIGMA.

There is something you can do to stop this travesty.  Help kids have a voice to help other kids and save a life.  Just as a marathon or half marathon is a very long race, LETS youth are also on a difficult race: to erase the stigma of mental illness.  Let's invite kids to talk openly--and without stigma--about issues like teen suicide, bullying, eating disorders, self-harm, and mental health concerns.  And now that we're talking...let's run! 

LETS works. LETS can't do this alone.  LETS needs a team...

Let's Run!  We run because it's fun, and we run because it matters!

Let’s race against stigma!

Let’s Erase the Stigma Educational Foundation (LETS) is a charity for children and a positive force for early education and prevention that saves kids today from tomorrow’s issues: issues like bullying, teen suicide, eating disorders, depression, self-harm, substance abuse, and the fear of talking to adults about things that matter.  Just as a marathon or half marathon is a very long race, LETS youth are also on a difficult race: to erase the stigma of mental illness.  Let’s invite kids to talk openly and without stigma today, again tomorrow, and even more later.  Let’s talk every day!  And now that we’re talking...let’s run!

If you join Team LETS LA Marathon 2012 and raise at least $500, LETS Educational Foundation will reimburse your race registration fee.  We’ll also be so stoked to cheer for you as a teammate!

We have a story to share.
Alona grew up in a “nice neighborhood” in Los Angeles where she went to a “nice school,” and was a “nice girl from a nice family.”  But behind the nice image everyone saw, Alona suffered abuse at the hands of parents she should have been able to trust.  When she reached out for help, the people who were supposed to help and protect Alona let her down out of stigma, believing that things like abuse and self harm “didn’t happen happen in nice schools.”  At 14 she left home and began a new struggle with homelessness, drugs, and depression.  It was her desire to live, the love of her career, and her many talents that helped Alona overcome her upbringing and homelessness.  Through her work at LETS, today she’s erasing the stigma of mental illness that once prevented her from getting the help she needed as a teen.  She is helping others understand that mental health concerns are issues as real as a broken arm, and never mean that an individual is crazy or lying.  She is spreading word that mental illness is not to be feared, that it’s okay to ask for help, and that when kids ask for help we need to listen to them.

Let’s help kids talk.
LETS is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to erasing the stigma of mental illness by funding and developing educational programs, mentoring opportunities, and research possibilities designed to empower youth to change the perception of mental illness.  Your donation will go directly to support our children's charity establish LETS Clubs in schools and community centers where students can discuss stigma, learn about mental health, plan and lead their own stigma-erasing projects, and provide peer-to-peer education in their communities.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for teens, and most teen hospitalizations are the result of a suicide attempt; but only three out of ten individuals with mental illness seek help.  We invite you to join Team LETS, a community phenomenon that empowers young people to foster awareness and hope instead of stigma!

Let’s make a difference together.
Please support our exciting race for kids by running with Team LETS in the Los Angeles Marathon on March 18, 2012 or sharing a donation.  Help us tell a new story by giving kids a voice to talk about mental illness and erase the stigma, one conversation at a time.