BY EMILY SUHR
More than a hundred Gerritsen Beach community members gathered for a mental health awareness fundraiser hosted by the Characters For Chris Foundation at the Tamaqua Bar and Marina on Sept. 21.
The nonprofit organization was established in 2024 by Mary Dwyer in memory of her son Christopher Dwyer, who passed by suicide at 22 after suffering from depression. This marked only the second fundraiser hosted by the foundation. The event featured live music from three bands, raffles, and symbolic activities aimed at raising awareness about suicide prevention and mental health support.
Attendees were given wristbands at the door with messages like “Never give up” and “Don’t let the hard days win.” They were also asked to guess the number of crayons in a jar, a play on the idea that broken crayons still color.
For Dwyer, the location of the event held a deeper meaning.
“The reason that I decided to have this fundraiser at the Tamaqua is because when my son Christopher was about 13 or 14 years old, he rocked this stage with his band at the time,” said Dwyer. “In his very short 22 years of life it was one of the best days of his life.”
“My son would’ve been 30 on October 30th, and this is like the 30th birthday party I never got to give him,” added Dwyer. “These are the bands he would’ve loved to have at a 30th birthday party.”
The fundraiser comes at a time when mental health concerns are on the rise. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently estimated that over a billion people have mental health disorders. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in 15-29 year olds worldwide.
Dwyer feels that by sharing her story, she is breaking the stigma surrounding mental health. “If you are ever depressed, facing anxiety, whatever your issue is, I beg you to reach out,” said Dwyer. “Someone is always there.”
The Characters For Chris Foundation focuses on outreach through creative programming aimed at children. The name comes from Christopher’s love of Halloween, and the use of costumed characters to visit young children to talk about mental health and encourage them to reach out if they are struggling. The organization also holds costume drives to provide Halloween costumes to kids in need.
One of Christopher’s childhood friends, Robert Vogt, helped Dwyer organize and run the fundraiser.
“He loved Halloween and he loved helping out little kids, so now what we do is go to shelters and schools where kids don’t really have the best income and give them Halloween costumes,” said Vogt.
For many attendees, the event was both educational and personal. Dana Johnston, who was raised in Gerritsen Beach, went with her son to support one of the bands and to contribute to the cause.
“Talking about mental health issues has become more accepted in recent years, but we haven’t quite gotten to where we need to be,” said Johnston. “I think awareness on many fronts is needed.”
She emphasized the importance of broader community involvement in mental health advocacy.
“Sadly those that are raising awareness have usually been personally affected,” said Johnston. “We cannot change the past but we must all strive for a brighter, healthier and safer future. We can’t do that if we don’t face the facts. We can’t ignore it.”