As she continues to augment her son’s tremendous legacy through Jimmy’s Way, Marianne Wells is preparing for what is sure to be an engaging fundraiser in less than two weeks, with 100% of proceeds to be donated to the organization.
Jimmy’s Way was created by friends and family of James Dean Wells, also known as “Jimmy” (4/23/83-11/23/11). After Jimmy took his own life shortly before Thanksgiving in 2011, the non-profit was set-up in honor of, and to help people like, her son.
“I’m going to bring awareness and education to suicide prevention through yoga events,” Marianne told us. ”As far as support goes, it seems to be few and far between. Once I counted 30 events in one month for my entire state. No one can heal that way, with limited resources.”
On June 23rd the community will come together in celebration of Jimmy at several locations throughout St. Paul, Minnesota.
The fundraiser will kick off with a donation-based yoga class offered by Marianne, representing the Marianne Wells Yoga Alliance School, hosted by sponsor RiverGarden Yoga Center. Located on West 7th Street, the class will commence at 6 pM. Eggs will be in full force with a bounty of the recently released Marianne Wells Yoga School Egg; Marianne recently partnered with Three Minute Egg® to create the Hard-Boiled Good Karma Egg, featuring the name of her yoga school on one side. All proceeds will be donated to Jimmy’s Way. Participants are asked to arrive 15 minutes early, and the minimum donation rests at $10.
After the community yoga class the celebration continues at Shamrock’s The Irish Nook, a grill and pub just a few blocks down on West 7th Street. Events there will kick off at 8 PM with a plethora of celebrations by means of food, drinks, dancing, and a silent auction. Live music will be provided by The Brute Squadand Tree Party. Participants here are also asked to donate a minimum of $10 at the door.
Jimmy lived his life free of judgement of others, filled with support and love to his family, friends, and friends of friends. He was a very kind man who gave so much in accepting the burdens of others to help in any way, while bringing laughter to everyone.
100% of proceeds and donations from this event will be dispersed through a variety of sources. A tree and memorial plaque will be placed in Jimmy’s honor in the city of St. Paul–home to University of St. Thomas, and the happiest days of his life. Funds will also be allocated to the University of St. Thomas School of Engineering to help support their scholarship funds; Jimmy was a proud graduate of the school with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Lastly, funds will be donated to support groups training programs with the American Foundation Suicide Prevention–to help create more support groups throughout America.
If you’re not local to the St. Paul area, there will be 12 participating yoga teachers holding donation-based yoga classes around the world on the same day in honor of the non-profit. Teachers and students in Colorado, Canada, Cayman Islands, Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, and Texas will be honoring Jimmy’s life; find out more details on the Jimmy’s Way website. Jimmy’s Way always welcomes donations to support its mission to understand and prevent suicide. Online donations can be made on CrowdRise, with their goal set at $9,000 to be donated to the American Foundation Suicide Prevention.
Stay tuned for more updates about the fundraiser and Jimmy’s Way on Facebook at Celebrate Jimmy’s Way, Marianne Wells Yoga School, and Three Minute Egg.