Letters

I am once again overwhelmed by the generosity and spirit of our community.

I just came from the Mayday 5K at Main Beach, which I help organize on behalf of the Old Montauk Athletic Club. Proceeds from this race are donated to the Tyler Project in Montauk, which helps support youth in mental health crises.

You may recall that this race was the brainchild of Dylan Cashin and Ryleigh O’Donnell, who worked with Mayor Jerry Larsen and Bradford Billet of the Village Foundation, post-COVID, as a way to give back to the mental health community for the support that they needed during and after the pandemic.

Over the past three years, we have donated over $45,000 to the Tyler Project and the Family Service League.

This year, with Ryleigh and Dylan having graduated high school, Lucy Knight and Vanessa Paradiso, high school freshmen, have taken over. While they had some big shoes to fill, they were more than up to the task, and it is because of them that we received so many generous sponsorships and donations again this year.

I want to personally thank both Mayor Larsen and Mr. Billet for all of the support from the village and the Village Foundation — without them the race simply would not happen. The crew at Main Beach — Ed Budd, Donnie McGovern, Drew Smith and James Amaden — also were instrumental, as was Sergeant Richard Sperber and his team of TCOs, who kept all 761 runners and walkers safe.

Thanks, too, to all of the volunteers who showed up (too many to mention) and, last but certainly not least, all of the runners, walkers and the one rollerblader who showed up and spent their Sunday morning in support of the community.

This is why we live here.

Jenn Fowkes

Old Montauk Athletic Club