11-Year-Old Walks for Family, Suicide Prevention

Madison Kalmus might be the youngest person in her family, but the Long Valley Middle School sixth-grader is stepping forward to support a noble cause on behalf of her parents and siblings—one very near to her heart.

Last year, Madison Kalmus’s sister, Alexis, organized a team of 25 walkers to participate in the Out of the Darkness walk at Waterloo Village to support The American Foundation of Suicide Prevention. The Kalmus children lost their grandfather in 2011 to suicide.

But big sister Alexis is off to college now and Madison’s parents, Mitch and Barbara, are unable to participate in the annual walk on Sunday.

That didn’t stop Madison Kalmus from continuing the support and putting together a team of nearly a dozen walkers for this year’s event, and has been raising funds through a donation page, which can be found here.

“Madison told me that the show must go on,” her father, Mitch Kalmus said.

While registration for non-team members is now closed, donations can be submitted through midnight on Dec. 31, 2014.

Find out more about the Northwest New Jersey Walk here, and to donate to Madison Kalmus’ effort, go here.