150-mile walk a success

After 10 days and 150 miles, village resident George Wenk made it from the steps of Oceanside High School all the way to Manchester High School in Connecticut.

Wenk organized the walk after his son, George Wenk III, committed suicide in April. George was only 30 years old, and left behind his wife of 2 ? years, Michelle, and his 1-year-old daughter Avery.

Wenk’s relay was the first of its kind, bridging two Out of Darkness walks that were sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP): one walk on Long Island on Oct. 4 at the Old Westbury Gardens, in which Wenk walked, and a second

walk in Wickham Park in Manchester on Oct. 17, which would have been George’s 31st birthday.

The walk was also being used as a fundraiser by the new group that Wenk formed, Journey for Life. The group had a goal of raising $10,000 to donate to the AFSP.

“We’re over $15,000 at this point,” Wenk said. “I’m not sure what the total will be, but we blew that $10,000 out of the water.”

Wenk acted as a supervisor for the walk—he didn’t walk all 150 miles of the relay, but he was there for every foot of it, making sure everything went according to schedule.

“It was a long trip, and a lot of coordinating,” he said. “That was basically my job in the end. But I felt really accomplished.”

Finishing the last leg of the relay, Wenk was welcomed at the steps of Manchester High School by the school’s principal and district superintendent. Wenk delivered to them a letter of hope that Oceanside Superintendent Dr. Herb Brown had written.

“They were standing outside waiting for us—the superintendent of schools, the principal, some of their staff and some of the students,” Wenk said of the officials from Manchester. “It was great.”

Comments about this story? ACostello@liherald.com or (516)569-4000 ext. 207.