Tri-4-YouthSobriety
Donation protected
Have you ever wondered how you can help with the huge problem of drug and alcohol abuse among youth?
As a recovering addict I sure have pondered this question... that is why I am trying to do something about it. If we all chip in here and there the best way we know how then together we can make a change!
This Go-Fund-Me is dedicated to making a difference by giving donations to help local non-profit organizers who dedicate their work towards youth so that they can strengthen or establish drug and alcohol use and abuse programs as part of the great services they provide.
Many non-profits help youth in one way or the other and they all have great financial obligations to keep operating. Therefore, the money from this Go-Fund-Me is sent to a youth-focused non-profit in order to help them do anything that will promote their effectiveness with drug and alcohol use and abuse services. This could range from helping the organizers in buying literature to helping them adopt a training curriculum for staff and teachers.
The need to severe. The CDC reports that more than 70,200 Americans died of drug overdose in 2017 and around half a million people died world wide! This figure is rising dramatically! We need to have more programs available for our youth, the future of our nation and the world to help combat this disastrous epidemic.
Personally, I struggled with drugs and alcohol as a youth and found myself looking for help. So I battled with the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol into my adulthood, which caused me to develop and continue to feed the very serious disease of addiction. I finally hit rock bottom a few different times while barely holding onto my own life. Instead of embarking on a business or family venture at 27 years old this led me to seek out inpatient rehabilitation to save my life and it cost me a fortune in both time and money. It was all worth it because it saved my life but this could have all been prevented if I had help recognizing the tendency to develop addiction at an early age. The problem was that none of the churches, social clubs, athletic teams or other extracurricular programs that I was a part of had any mission towards helping raise this awareness.
A goal like an Ironman needs support from community, family and friends and also takes much self commitment and dedication. Living sober and healthy also takes these same things. That is precisely why I am dedicating my time and efforts into this mission. The extensive training and commitment needed to participate in triathlons has helped me to maintain a healthy lifestyle that promotes sobriety for myself. My hope is that I can use this to help our youth recognize that making choices like the ones I used to make can lead to a life-long battle with addiction. Whereas if they choose family, community and a commitment to health and values They can make a lasting impact on the world.
This Go-Fund Me is therefore dedicated to programs such as Sparrows Nest of Northwest Montana (dedicated to helping homeless youth in the flathead valley), Cry J (center for restorative youth justice) and hopefully schools and churches-if I end up raising enough funds.
I do not have much money nor do I make much, but I do have a strong back and healthy body. So, to help raise funds I have decided to commit to completing a half ironman once half the goal has been met and a full ironman once the whole goal has been met!
Hope to see you guys at the finish line!
God Bless
90% goes directly to non-profits and The other percentage pays for the go-fund me platform and towards race entry fees and the Trials to Triathlon Blog/book outreach. Hopefully both will help change lives!
Thanks for all your support
-Mark Turnipseed
As a recovering addict I sure have pondered this question... that is why I am trying to do something about it. If we all chip in here and there the best way we know how then together we can make a change!
This Go-Fund-Me is dedicated to making a difference by giving donations to help local non-profit organizers who dedicate their work towards youth so that they can strengthen or establish drug and alcohol use and abuse programs as part of the great services they provide.
Many non-profits help youth in one way or the other and they all have great financial obligations to keep operating. Therefore, the money from this Go-Fund-Me is sent to a youth-focused non-profit in order to help them do anything that will promote their effectiveness with drug and alcohol use and abuse services. This could range from helping the organizers in buying literature to helping them adopt a training curriculum for staff and teachers.
The need to severe. The CDC reports that more than 70,200 Americans died of drug overdose in 2017 and around half a million people died world wide! This figure is rising dramatically! We need to have more programs available for our youth, the future of our nation and the world to help combat this disastrous epidemic.
Personally, I struggled with drugs and alcohol as a youth and found myself looking for help. So I battled with the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol into my adulthood, which caused me to develop and continue to feed the very serious disease of addiction. I finally hit rock bottom a few different times while barely holding onto my own life. Instead of embarking on a business or family venture at 27 years old this led me to seek out inpatient rehabilitation to save my life and it cost me a fortune in both time and money. It was all worth it because it saved my life but this could have all been prevented if I had help recognizing the tendency to develop addiction at an early age. The problem was that none of the churches, social clubs, athletic teams or other extracurricular programs that I was a part of had any mission towards helping raise this awareness.
A goal like an Ironman needs support from community, family and friends and also takes much self commitment and dedication. Living sober and healthy also takes these same things. That is precisely why I am dedicating my time and efforts into this mission. The extensive training and commitment needed to participate in triathlons has helped me to maintain a healthy lifestyle that promotes sobriety for myself. My hope is that I can use this to help our youth recognize that making choices like the ones I used to make can lead to a life-long battle with addiction. Whereas if they choose family, community and a commitment to health and values They can make a lasting impact on the world.
This Go-Fund Me is therefore dedicated to programs such as Sparrows Nest of Northwest Montana (dedicated to helping homeless youth in the flathead valley), Cry J (center for restorative youth justice) and hopefully schools and churches-if I end up raising enough funds.
I do not have much money nor do I make much, but I do have a strong back and healthy body. So, to help raise funds I have decided to commit to completing a half ironman once half the goal has been met and a full ironman once the whole goal has been met!
Hope to see you guys at the finish line!
God Bless
90% goes directly to non-profits and The other percentage pays for the go-fund me platform and towards race entry fees and the Trials to Triathlon Blog/book outreach. Hopefully both will help change lives!
Thanks for all your support
-Mark Turnipseed
Organizer
Mark Turnipseed
Organizer
Evergreen, CO