HunterFest 5K & Festival

Sunday, April 24, 2022
10 AM - 2 PM

Liberty State Park: Jersey City, NJ
Race: 10 AM Awards: 11 AM

Please join us for our first annual HunterFest 5K & Festival! The New York City skyline and Lady Liberty will welcome you to this spectacular USATF-NJ Grand Prix qualifier 5K in Liberty State Park. This is a flat, fast course that has PR written all over it. Bring your family and friends who will cheer you on while enjoying HunterFest, where they can sample delicious local cuisine, play carnival games and more. Register at www.HunterFest5K.org.

Presented by:

Santomauro General Contracting

Mission

A Teen Mentoring Program Created & Driven by Teenagers

#HuntersWorld gives teenagers a safe place free of judgement to talk about their emotions with the support of their peers. Here they learn to share with their mentors, which helps them build a strong foundation of self-worth that they will continue to foster throughout high school, college and adulthood. We currently host weekly meetings to high school students throughout Jersey City and the surrounding areas.

Hunter

Hunter was fearless and outgoing and had an unforgettable sense of humor. More than that, he was a staunchly loyal friend with a gift for making those around him feel safe, heard and accepted. His friends and family missed this so much, they came together and created #HuntersWorld.

Meetings Every Wednesday At

124 Monticello Ave. 4:30-6:00

Need A Ride?

Who We Are

At its core, #HuntersWorld is a teen peer mentoring program – created and driven by teenagers. In today’s environment, teenagers face an unprecedented amount of pressure and stress. Approximately 1 in 5 teenagers suffer from a mental health disorder, most commonly depression and anxiety. Left unchecked, these mental health issues can lead teens down the road to making dangerous choices such as violence, substance abuse, and even suicide. #HuntersWorld aims to fight this crisis among our teens by destigmatizing these mental health issues and teaching them to talk about their challenges. Recent studies show peer mentoring has a measurable positive impact on self-esteem, building relationships with adults, and teen’s attitudes towards school.

Working closely with our staff social worker, we have created a mentor training and certification program. Our mentors go through an 8-week intensive program that covers such topics as: feelings, trust, peer pressure, coping mechanisms, counseling techniques, suicide prevention, substance abuse, LGBTQ+ issues, racism, violence, consent, and more. This training is ongoing throughout the school year as they work weekly with our social worker while also meeting weekly with our program participants.

Hunter’s heart was incredibly open and filled with empathy. He was once asked who his “people” were, and he replied by saying “people who talk to me are my people.” It’s with this kind and sincere approach that we strive to create something that exemplifies how Hunter lived - and what we all miss most about him.

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