Foundation’s Inaugural Event Takes Place on March 29th:
The 1st Annual Friends R Family Danyelle Filiaggi 5K/Family Walk
Bel Air, Md (January 20, 2015) – Friends and family members of the late Danyelle Filiaggi announce the launch of the Friends R Family Foundation and its first annual 5K/Family Walk. The new foundation was created to honor Filiaggi’s legacy while raising awareness of mental health issues and improving access to care and resources.
The Foundation’s inaugural event is the 1st Annual Friends R Family Danyelle Filiaggi 5K/Family Walk on March 29th, 2014 at 9 a.m. beginning at the Bel Air Athletic Club in Bel Air, Md., with a course that covers the Ma & Pa Trail. The event promises fun pre- and post-race activities, including DJ entertainment, awards, refreshments, prizes and more. The 5K will award the top runners in each age group. The 5K race caps at the first 350 participants who register, but space for the 1 mile family run is unlimited. Following the race, representatives and literature from the Harford County Mobile Crisis Unit and other mental health providers will be on hand to educate participants and spectators about mental illness resources in Harford County. To register to participate in the event or for more information, visit: http://eliteracemanagement.com/friends-r-family-5k/
The race is sponsored by The Greene Turtle of Aberdeen, McComas Funeral Home and the Bel Air Athletic Club. Additional sponsorship opportunities are still available; to become an event sponsor, contact race co-chair Mary Buyse at 609.504.1330 or [email protected].
Danyelle Filiaggi was a local Bel Air wife and mother who, in October 2014 at the age of 43, lost her battle with mental illness. During her life, she gained a reputation for always working to help others, from serving as a PTA cookie mom to volunteering in her children’s schools and for area non-profits like Harford Family House. While working for Aeropostale, she oversaw the collection of jeans to be donated to those in need for that company’s Jeans for Teens initiative. Most recently, she helped organize successful fundraising events at The Greene Turtle in Aberdeen, where she served as Marketing Director, including a Funds for Friends event which helped offset the medical expenses of her friend Dyanne Barnes, who was diagnosed with breast cancer.
She is survived by her husband of 20 years, Anthony “Jamie” Filiaggi, III and her three daughters. “Danyelle cared so deeply for others and was always doing what she could to support her friends and family,” says her husband. “I know that turning our collective sorrow about her loss into a positive force that may help others is exactly what she would have wanted us to do.”
About Friends R Family Foundation – www.friendsrfamily.org
Friends R Family is a Maryland 501(c)3 non-profit that seeks to bring local, state and national attention to mental illness while also removing its stigma, ensuring that anyone suffering with mental illness has access to the same level of resources and support available for any other illness.
