YESTERDAY I RECEIVED AN EMAIL informing me that’d I’d won a design contest I’d entered in early December. The contest was put on by FirstLink and to promote National Suicide Prevention and the Walk of Hope, an annual event to raise suicide awareness, that will take place in Fargo this coming September 10.
I felt compelled to enter the contest not because I wanted to win an award or have my design distributed throughout the community, but because I have personally been affected and seen others close to me affected by suicide and want the world to see a better answer. Suicide brings a lot of grieving, pain and sadness that could be prevented through a conversation, a realization, or an awareness. The Walk of Hope is a cause I believe in, even if it can’t bring anyone back from the decisions they’ve made, it can change the future.
For the next few months I’m going to be working with FirstLink to get the word out about the Walk of Hope—and hopefully learn a thing or two along the way.
For more on the Walk of Hope, read this article from last year’s event.
approximatelyes.com 
Let me be the first to congratulate you! I'm glad you're receiving recognition for your work. Also, I believe a design motivated by personal experience and emotion will always be better than trying to design for awards and publicity. (But I'm pretty sure that's a truism.)
You should post the design as well!
-Eric
thank you, eric—i will post!
j