Janssen workers walk from Darkness into Light to support Pieta House
On 7th May 2016 at 04.15am over one hundred hardy Janssen Employees and members of their families were among the 4,500 people who came together in UCC to walk from Darkness into Light to raise money for the suicide and self-harm charity Pieta House.
Families, friends, children, and even pets turned out to walk in solidarity for suicide prevention. The runners and walkers started at the UCC Quad and walked along Mardyke Walk, Sundays Well, North Mall, Bachelors Quay and back to UCC. Following their exertions the walkers and runners enjoyed a well-earned breakfast in the River Lee hotel later on that morning.
The Darkness into Light event is Pieta House’s largest annual fundraiser. The funds raised will go towards providing support to thousands of people affected by suicide. The founder and chief executive of Pieta House, Joan Freeman, said that, “We are just so grateful to all of those who took part – not just grateful from a financial point of view but for the solidarity and the sense of community they displayed and for believing in what we are doing,” She said the event was important to help highlight that suicide “can happen to absolutely anybody – some people sometimes come to a crisis point in their lives and that’s it, they just need help”
Janssen Participation was organized by the CNS Business Unit and was supported by the Janssen running club. The CNS BU first engaged with Pieta House in October 2014 when Clinical Director Sylvia O’Driscoll gave an informative talk on the services and challenges of Pieta house as part of World Mental Health Day.
More images here.
This is the second year Janssen has participated in Darkness into Light, with the numbers nearly doubling from 2015. It is an event that we wish to continue to support into the future and we are already looking forward to Darkness into Light 2017!
