NYC Half Marathon for AFSP & Paluszek family

Hellooo! Welcome to my fundraising page!

I will be running in this year’s NYC Half Marathon on Sunday, March 17th with team AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention), advocating for research and education around suicide and supporting survivors of suicide loss and those affected by suicide.

Suicide prevention is a cause that has gotten closer and closer to my heart over the years. It started in college when I was appointed to philanthropy chairman of my fraternity. We held numerous fundraising events on and off campus with a campus-wide 5k for the Amazing Day Foundation being a highlight of our fundraising efforts (story here).

In the summer of 2022, my family and I received news of something we never wanted to hear. Our cousin, nephew, grandson, brother, son, and friend, Jeremy Paluszek, had taken his life in his home in California. We were all taken aback by the news and our hearts were filled with sadness.

As I fight back tears writing this post, I reflect on that day. I had been driving back to NYC with my family from a fun MDW weekend out east when I received a call from my mother who shared the awful news with us. We had pulled over to the side of the road during the initial conversation and then proceeded to drive back onto the highway in silence, tears filling our eyes and sorrow filling our hearts. I lost it when we arrived at our destination but was lucky to have family around to provide comfort.

The next few days/weeks/months (and still today) were not easy but reminiscing on all of the fun times we had, especially as children, helped ease the pain. Summers and holidays were fun -- basketball, pool days, manhunt, blob (iykyk) are some of the first things that come to mind. We are close in age, only about a year and a half apart, so we related on a lot of things. Sports, food, music, clothes, girls, you name it -- sheesh the first time I drank was with him.

But as I've gotten older, I've learned that Jeremey taught me a lot of things. He had a big heart and his caring and selfless traits are some that I try to mimic and put forward every day. He was also super fun and his laugh was contagious. It reminds me to not take things so seriously sometimes. I could go on and on.

That said, I am looking to raise $1,500 for AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention). Donations will be used to advocate for research and education around suicide and support survivors of suicide loss and those affected by suicide.

While those close to Jeremy feel his loss every day, the young family that he left behind has also been impacted. As such, any additional profits that I can raise will be shared with his immediate family.

Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated. I thank you in advance for your contribution. Feel free to share my donation page with any friends, family, or colleagues.

And if you’re able to make it, I'd love to see you at the race on Marth 17th!

Best,

Andrés + AFSP