On Sunday, May 18, To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA), based in Orlando, FL, is bringing their Move For It 5K to Oakley, CA for the first time. The event begins at 9 a.m. at Purpose Built and the Diamond Hills Sports Club on the corner of Neroly and Empire.
TWLOHA is a non-profit organization of 19 years that is dedicated to presenting hope and resources for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide. According to Sheena Grosshans, the director of human relations at TWLOHA, the organization began when a group of friends came together to fund money for a friend of theirs who needed inpatient mental health care. They eventually went viral and decided they wanted to continue helping people.
TWLOHA began organizing 5Ks in Florida in 2013, initially known as the Run For It 5K, until the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the event coming to a halt.
“Mental health is important before a crisis happens, there’s a lot of small steps you can take for preventive actions, and a lot of that is connected to good physical health,” Grosshans said. “Our Move For It 5K starts that conversation.”
This year, 55-year-old local ICU nurse at John Muir Health and mental health advocate, Barbara Pollard, worked with TWLOHA in hopes of bringing the community together for a 5K during mental health awareness month.
Pollard said she came across a TWLOHA booth at an Aftershock concert six years ago when she was experiencing a lot of mental health issues. She said that the vendor spent the entirety of her time at the booth asking her how she was doing and focusing on her feelings, which gave her a sense of comfort.
“I looked them up online and the next thing I know, I spent the next six and a half years of my life buying their products and donating for them on a regular basis,” Pollard said.
According to Pollard, TWLOHA brought their 5K back in 2024 in Florida, and virtually across other states. After an accident she experienced while walking her dogs resulting in a fractured face, Pollard said she didn’t want to leave her house until the virtual 5K came back, inspiring her.
“I decided I’m getting off the couch, getting over my fears, I’m gonna take my life back, because that was something that ‘To Write Love’ always supported and invested in me,” Pollard said.
According to Pollard, she raised $1,500 on her own through donations from people who worked with her, leading to her coworkers expressing support and sharing their own mental health struggles with her. After that, she reached out to TWLOHA in hopes of hosting an in-person 5K in Oakley, CA.
“I wanted to bring this really incredible event, that gave me so much life, into my personal community,” Pollard said. “I really wanted to share with the people who I felt needed it most, specifically my high school [Freedom High School] who deals with so many mental health issues.”
Pollard and Grosshans said that the event is sponsored by Diamond Hills Sports Club and Spa, Purpose-built, Fleet Feet, John Muir Health and Behavioral Health, Newport Health, Scheer Security, and Pepsi.
Registration is $35 for adults and $25 for children 12 and under.
More information and registration can be found here.
