Replace a Brick from Wall of Stigma with a Candle & Let Light Shine Through. Help Light 100 Candles By 12/31 & Help Us Save Lives.

I’ve never met anyone not affected by bipolar disorder or suicide. I ask you to take a moment out of your day and read this letter with those effects in mind. ?

?Hope Xchange Nonprofit Reduces Incidence of Suicide By Caring.

As CEO and Founder of Hope Xchange, not only do I not take a salary but I also mentor in our bipolar mentoring program. Why? The answer is simple: because I care. I care that over one of 10 precious souls in the bipolar community lose their lives to suicide, with up to 50% attempting suicide at some point. I care that those who are hurting struggle to not only hold onto hope but to life itself.

As someone who is bipolar and a three-time suicide attempt survivor, my passionate mission is to reignite every heart I'm called to reach so no one has to go through what I did. Suicide rates are at a 30-year high. To do something about this, we all need to care, not only with our words but with our actions.

We Take Action. We Know How to Save Lives.

We are saving lives today with our free bipolar and bipolar family mentoring programs. By providing a bridge paved with love and light, our volunteer mentors transition those struggling from hopelessness to hopefulness and helplessness to helpfulness. No brave soul who reaches out for help should not get an immediate response or the care we all deserve.

Further, our children, youth and lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning/queer and transgender communities are in a world of hurt. There is still so much more work to be done if we are to break down the walls of stigma, silence and shame that not only stop one out of three from reaching out for treatment but literally bury some behind their hefty weight.

Will you Lift Someone Up with Light & Help Us Save More Lives?

Heretofore bootstrapped, our nonprofit now needs your help to fulfill our mission to further reduce the incidence of suicide. As we now fundraise to sustain and grow Hope Xchange in order to extend our reach into the bipolar community with new innovative early-intervention programs under development for 2017 ("Give a Bark," Pairing Pets in Need with Bipolars in Need, extending our mentoring for Children, Youth & LGBQT community, and "Holistic Hope," healing with health & wellness), I'm asking for your help. I'm asking you to care for those who aren't in a position to help themselves.

This holiday season, please join me in bringing something all too often absent in our community, light. Let's lift those struggling up with hope by simply showing we all care. Together, let's remove bricks out of the wall of stigma, shame and silence surrounding mental illness and replace with flickering candles; and let light and hope shine through.

Light Your Candle & Help Someone Struggling to Hold Onto Not Only to Hope But to Life Itself.

To light your candle, please visit our website at www.hopexchangenonprofit.org where you can select from one of the 3 options below:

If you believe, as I do, that we simply can’t afford to lose any more of our children, youth and adults diagnosed with this incurable mental illness, please make a donation today. We all matter. We all deserve someone who cares. We all deserve to live.

Help us light 100 candles by December 31st with your donation today at www.hopexchangenonprofit.org.

With gratitude and blessings from our volunteer family to yours this holiday season.

Kerry Martin, CEO & Founder, Hope Xchange & Hope Xchange Timebank

PS. Please also rejoice with us and view our wall of light and hope created by all who have already given. And, use the social media links on our SHINE ON page to share our joy. And don’t forget to use the hashtag #ShineOn.