Brendan Tremmel Memorial Fundraiser

Hello Family, Friends, and Strangers,

On October 18th, 2022, our 16-year-old cousin, Brendan Patrick Tremmel, tragically took his own life. Brendan was a promising, intelligent, and unique young man at the cusp of adulthood entering into a new era of his life. He was practicing driving for his license, touring universities for his future, working out, and experiencing life his way - skiing, dirt biking, traveling, even investing in the stock market. He liked what he did, and did what he liked. There was no convincing Brendan, he was always headstrong and sure of his actions. He was the best of us, and we all could not wait to see him grow.

As much as Brendan did what he liked, he could not overcome his battle with depression. From a young age, Brendan struggled with his mental health. He sought therapy for his illness, and while it helped, he never believed he could be cured. He was lost in his thoughts and could no longer bear the burden he felt he would have for the rest of his life. It is with a heavy heart we reminisce about our beloved Brendan. It never had to be this way and he had so much more to offer and live. And so, we commemorate Brendan Patrick Tremmel through our thoughts and actions and promote his story as a reminder that suicide is too common a decision to mental health issues. Unfortunately, suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people age 15 to 24 in the U.S. Nearly 20% of high school students report serious thoughts of suicide and 9% have attempted to take their lives, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

For Brendan, and for all those who have committed suicide or may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, Brendan's family has come together to raise donation money for charities. Andrew Kuroki and Patrick Kane III, his eldest male cousins, have decided to dedicate their time and energy to aid in this fundraising process for suicide awareness by competing in a marathon and ironman, respectively.

Andrew will be running the NYC Marathon on behalf Minding Your Mind (MYM) - a local Philadelphia organization whose primary objective is to provide mental health education to adolescents, teens and young adults, their parents, teachers and school administrators. Patrick will be competing in the Cambridge, Maryland Ironman in September on Brendan's behalf, raising money and awareness of suicide along his journey.

Together, the proceeds from this fundraiser will be split 50/50, half of which will support Minding Your Mind, while the other half will be donated to a charity of the Tremmel family's choosing in Brendan's name.

Please consider donating to our fundraiser and helping to raise suicide awareness and reduce the stigma around mental health issues.

Additionally, with a donation of $30 or more, we would love to send you a t-shirt to support suicide awareness and to keep Brendan's memory alive. A sample of the t-shirt can be seen below. If you would like a t-shirt, please email "Brendan.Tremmel.Fundraiser" at gmail.com with your size, contact information, and delivery information. We will coordinate with you via email for t-shirt delivery. We thank you for your support!