The Hope for Depression Research Foundation (HDRF) will be hosting their Annual Week of Hope and Race of Hope to Defeat Depression in Palm Beach from February 4 – 15. This year, HDRF will light up Palm Beach’s iconic Royal Park Bridge sunshine yellow on Tuesday, February 4 to kick off the week.
DRF’s Race of Hope, the centerpiece of the campaign, is a 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, February 15 at 8 am at The Royal Poinciana Plaza. HDRF Founding Chair Audrey Gruss and Board member Scott Snyder, both Palm Beach residents, are Grand Marshals for the annual event which is now in its second year. With hundreds registered from Palm Beach and beyond, the Race unites the community in an active day of health to speak out about depression and raise funds for critical research.
“Depression is the Number One cause of suicide and disability worldwide,” said Audrey Gruss, “and our vow in the next decade is to find new treatments that will finally bring this complex illness under control.” Gruss added: “The support we receive in Palm Beach for the work we do affirms our commitment to defeating this debilitating illness that affects each and every one of us, either directly or indirectly.
Week of Hope
Just after the bridge lighting and in the run-up to the Race, The Royal Poinciana Plaza will kick off the Week of Hope on Wednesday, February 5. Many storefronts at The Royal Poinciana Plaza will place a two-foot-wide, environmentally friendly and re-usable, yellow statement balloon at their front doors and hand out informational flyers about depression.
Over in the Worth Avenue shopping district, other stores along Via Bice will also display balloons and support HDRF’s mission with a percentage of sales during a Day of Hope on Wednesday, February 12.
“The bridge and the bright balloons represent a commitment to change the staggering statistics around depression,” said Audrey Gruss.
“The Royal Poinciana Plaza is thrilled to participate in this event for the second year in a row,” added Alexandra Patterson, Senior Director of Development and Interim General Manager of The Royal Poinciana Plaza. “The HOPE yellow balloons make a visual impact that will spark thousands of life-saving conversations and we are grateful to have the opportunity to support such an important cause.”
The Hope for Depression Research Foundation is the country’s leading non-profit organization dedicated solely to fighting depression through research and education. Now in its 14th year, HDRF launched the Race of Hope in Palm Beach in 2019, expanding the event from Southampton, NY, where the Race first started in 2016.
Last year the Race of Hope in Palm Beach raised over $300,000 for life-saving research.
Pictured:
Martin Gruss, Audrey Gruss, Scott Snyder