Raynor Memorial Golf Tournamant Receives National Recognition For Suicide Awareness Outreach

JAMESTOWN – The Chautauqua Tapestry System of Care Initiative was recognized by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for its partnership with the Raynor Memorial Golf Tournament for suicide awareness and prevention outreach.
Every year, SAMHSA holds the Excellence in Community Communications and Outreach Recognition Program (ECCO) which showcases and celebrates the outstanding achievements in communication and social marketing in local communities and this year, the Chautauqua Tapestry was honored with a Silver Award from the administration for their work with the Raynor Memorial Golf Tournament.
Under the direction of the Chautauqua County Department of Mental Hygiene, the Chautauqua Tapestry works to improve mental health services within the county by strengthening the existing services and providers through collaboration and communication.
The Sixth Annual Raynor Memorial Golf Tournament will be held on Saturday, September 8, 2018 at the Maplehurst Country Club in Lakewood, NY. Proceeds from the tournament will go to The Community Alliance for Suicide Prevention of Chautauqua County in the memory of Danny Raynor, who lost his life to suicide in 2007.
Since the tournaments inception in 2013, over $60,000 has been raised for local charities who continue the fight against suicide in Western New York.  The tournament is organized by Danny’s wife, Carri.
“Over the last ten years, I have researched suicide and I believe it is my mission in life to bring awareness to the community and help those struggling with the loss of a loved one,” said Raynor. She went on to say that when she lost Danny, there were no support groups available in the region dealing with suicide so she had to do learn to cope by herself.
“I had to learn how to juggle taking care of the entire household, raising an eighteen month old alone, and working full time.”
Community Alliance for Suicide Prevention  Coordinator Victoria Patti said they are thankful to work very closely with Carri.
“Her passion for increasing suicide awareness in Chautauqua County is tremendous and we want to be able to continuously provide those resources to support her efforts.”
Patti also said Carri does a lot of the work for this golf tournament on her own and she needs the community’s support including donations, gift baskets, and sponsors.
This was not the first time the Tapestry has been recognized for their hard work and dedication. In 2017, the program was awarded a Bronze ECCO for a Developmental Passport, a pocket-sized booklet assigned to caregivers and parents for keeping track of a child’s developmental state and health care information.  In 2013, they received a Silver ECCO for the Reach Out a Hand Suicide Prevention campaign. In 2011, they received another Silver Award for their month-long newspaper campaign in May of 2011 that was in celebration of May is Children’s Mental Health Awareness month, where local organizations promoted their services on mental health, wellness, family and youth.
Chautauqua Tapestry Public Relations Coordinator Annie Rosenthal said they are “incredibly excited” to be honored by the SAMHSA yet again.
“It’s a great feeling to know that all of this important work is recognized on a national level for being a valuable asset to our community.”
Additional information about the tournament can be found on the Raynor Memorial Golf Tournament’s event page on Facebook, or buy sending an email to Carri Raynor at raynormemorial@gmail.com.