Hope for Depression Research Foundation Week of Hope
Tuesday, 02/04/2020 – 02/15/2020 05:00 pm –
The Royal Poinciana Plaza
340 Royal Poinciana Way,
Miami, Florida 33480
Website
Cost: Free
Hope for Depression Research Foundation Kicks-off Awareness Raising Campaign in Palm Beach
Royal Park Bridge Lights Up Yellow for the Race of Hope
Shining Light on The Importance of Mental Health in 2020
February 4 – 15, 2020
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.
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.”
Here is a recap of the events launching the Race of Hope in Palm Beach:
· Tuesday, February 4: Bridge Lighting at sunset in HDRF signature sunshine yellow
· Wednesday, February 5: Week of Hope kicks off at The Royal Poinciana Plaza with visually-arresting HOPE balloons (environmentally friendly and re-usable).
· Wednesday, February 12, from 10am to 8pm, Worth Avenue’s Via Bice will host a shop and sip Day of Hope with music and refreshments and all stores donating a percentage of sales back to Hope for Depression Research Foundation. The day caps off with cocktails at Bice restaurant (313 Worth Ave, Palm Beach, FL 33480) starting at 5 pm.
· Thursday, February 13, Audrey Gruss and Frances Valentine are hosting an invitation-only luncheon at the Frances Valentine flagship store on Worth Avenue’s Via Bice.
· Saturday, February 15, the final day of the Week of Hope, Audrey Gruss and Palm Beach resident and HDRF Board member Scott Snyder, Race Grand Marshals, will lead the Second Annual Palm Beach 5K Race of Hope along the North trail and through the scenic streets of Palm Beach at 8am. Participants have registered from all over South Florida to unite as a community and raise awareness and funds to defeat depression. All participants will receive a finisher hat, short sleeve tech shirt, lightweight jacket and a finisher medal. 100% of proceeds from the Race will fund groundbreaking research into the root causes of depression in the brain and new and better treatments. Supporters who cannot travel to the race are encouraged to have their own “virtual race” in their hometown for $29. To sign up or learn more, please visit raceofhopeseries.org.
What is HDRF, and a quick overview of their work/achievements in the past decade:
· HDRF is the leading non-profit dedicated solely to advanced depression research.
· Audrey Gruss founded the organization in 2006 in memory of her mother, Hope, who struggled with depression.
· The mission of HDRF is to fund cutting-edge neuroscience research into the origins, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of depression and other related mood disorders.
· In 2010, HDRF launched its Depression Task Force – a collaboration of nine leading scientists, at the frontiers of brain science, from different research institutions across the U.S. and Canada. To accelerate breakthrough research, they share ongoing results, in real-time, at the HDRF Data Center.
· HDRF has invested over 30 million dollars in advanced depression research to date.
