Paddle for Prevention effort raising funds and awareness for suicide prevention
Decorah natives Corey Smock (left) and Lance Loney (right) are fulfilling a dream and serving a cause in their Paddle for Prevention effort of canoeing the length of the Mississippi River this summer. The pair will be paddling into Lansing this Friday, June 26, where there will be an event to welcome them and help them raise funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Photo courtesy of Paddle for Prevention.
A pair of Decorah natives are canoeing their way down the length of the Mississippi River in an effort to raise funds for suicide awareness and prevention. Corey Smock and Lance Loney, both 2009 graduates of Decorah High School, embarked upon their "Paddle for Prevention" journey Thursday, June 4 from the Mississippi River headwaters of Lake Itasca in Minnesota, and have plans to paddle into Lansing this Friday, June 26 for a bit of a reprieve from their time on the river.
An event in support of their efforts has been planned for the afternoon/evening of June 26, as family, friends and supporters will gather at the lower lot of Shep's Riverside Bar & Grill on the riverfront in Lansing to welcome them back to northeast Iowa along their 2,552-mile river trek. As part of Friday's event, a free-will donation will be collected for the meal being served, and "Paddle for Prevention" t-shirts will also be available for purchase, with all proceeds from the evening being donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
The impetus behind the journey stems from a dream of Smock's to canoe the Mississippi River, and the suicide death of his cousin, Adam Christopherson, also a Decorah native, further fueled that dream to its current reality. The pair predict that their journey will take two months or more to complete.
Smock is the son of 1973 Waukon High School graduate Mike Smock and his wife, the former Renee Thune, a 1975 graduate of Waukon High School. He has been teaching second and third grade English as a Second Language in Postville since January of 2014.
Loney is the son of Mike and Kristin Loney of Decorah. He currently works for an environmental consultant company called Alaskan Observers, Inc. as a fisheries biologist.
For more information on the cause the paddling pair are working to benefit, visit the official site of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at http://www.afsp.org/. For more information on their journey, including progress updates, visit Paddle for Prevention on Facebook or www.paddleforprevention.weebly.com.
