Dear Foundation Friends,

My name is Rhonda Johnson and I am McKenna’s mom. My daughter, McKenna Rae died by suicide on January 9, 2017, just a month shy of her 17th birthday on Valentine’s Day. This is an event that we did not see coming… you see McKenna was such a well-rounded individual, perfect in every way. She was beautiful, smart, witty, had good work ethic, liked to help others, was athletic, had many friends and always an advocate for the underdog. She made everything fun! She could listen to a song one time and know every word. She always had a smile on her face… we have very few photos that she does not have a smile. On the outside she seemed to have the world at her fingertips, but on the inside there was stormy weather.

Her absence leaves a huge hole in our lives, and after she died we were left to figure out why? How could this happen? So many questions. It became evident to us and our close friends that this issue needed to be addressed. Facts surrounding suicide are scary. We do not want another family to endure the heartache that we have, and we strive to do this with your help.

I encourage you to attend one of our classes, read the literature that we hand out, participate in a suicide awareness walk, volunteer at one of our events, mentor someone, or be a trusted adult to someone. Our family is living proof that the “that won’t happen to us” mentality is false. Together was can stop suicide and bring light to the mental issues plaguing our country. Everyone has a life worth living, every person needs to hear this and believe this.

I miss my daughter every second of every day. Please help us to fight this completely preventable epidemic. Together we can all make a difference.

Thank you for your help! Thank you for being you.

Rhonda Johnson
McKenna’s Mom and Rae of Hope Board Member