Why we walk
One in five of us, every year. Almost none of us in plain language.
One in five adults lives with a mental health condition each year — a sister, a coworker, a partner — and most of us don’t quite know how to say it. The Long Mile is what showing up looks like: three miles along the Mississippi each May, funding peer-support and crisis-line training in Hennepin County.
Five ways · pick one
Walking isn't
the only way to walk.
Donating, sponsoring, or pouring water at the finish all count the same. None of them is the “real” way.
01
Give
Donate
Give once or monthly. 92¢ of every dollar funds programs — peer support, school counselors.
02
Recruit
Start a team
Most teams are five to ten. Your book club. Your unit. Your group chat. We send a fundraising kit.
03
Underwrite
Sponsor the walk
Five tiers for businesses of every size — from neighborhood studios to regional firms.
04
Show up
Volunteer day-of
Pour water. Count walkers. Direct traffic at the bridge. Three-hour shifts, including breakfast at the finish line.
Five, if you count walking the route yourself. Which is, technically, the original way.
Seven years on
Numbers we keep close.
Independently verified each fiscal year by Candid and Charity Navigator.
Cents on the dollar
92¢
to programs
Walkers
3402
on the route in 2025
Raised
$1.6M
since 2018
Teams
412
walked together
Peer support in 23 schools.
Weekly student-led mental-health circles across Hennepin County middle and high schools. We fund the curriculum, the snacks, and the adult facilitators who hold the room.
2026 · 1,412 students · $640,000
Crisis-line training, paid.
Volunteer responders need 80 hours of certified training before they take a single call. We cover the cost so a paycheck isn’t the barrier between someone willing and someone trained.
2026 · 38 new responders · $210,000
Grief counseling for uninsured families.
Up to twelve sessions per family. No questions about ability to pay. No waiting list past two weeks.
2026 · 184 intakes · $385,000
When & where
Saturday, May 16.
Three miles by the river.
Saturday · May 16, 2026
3 miles
Boom Island Park · 9 AM start · loop along the Mississippi East Bank Trail.
Why I walk · in their words
Three reasons that look a lot
like yours.
Family
“I walk for my brother. He’s the funniest person I know and he’s been quiet for two years now. I’m trying to do something about it.”
Maya R.
Team captain · 3rd year
Personal
“I went through it in college. I didn’t have words for any of it. Now I do, and I want to give my words to someone who doesn’t.”
Daniel K.
First-year walker · solo entry
Team
“My team is twelve nurses and one therapist. We started walking after we lost a colleague. We’re still walking every year.”
Priya A.
8th year · Hennepin Health team
With thanks to our 2026 sponsors
May 16
Minneapolis
9 AM
Show up.
Be one of three thousand who do.
Three miles along the Mississippi. Coffee at the finish. Folding chairs.
People you’ll be glad to have met.