CJ Smuin, 15-year-old son of Pat and Nicole Smuin, passed away in December of 2020. Smuin played baseball on the Carbon Chaos Team, coached by his father, and had a great love for the sport.
Smuin’s loved ones have created a foundation, the CJ Smuin Memorial Foundation, which is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization. The board members consist of his family, friends and various community members. The mission of the foundation is to bring about positive change in the lives of young people regarding suicide prevention and awareness.
This will be achieved by the foundation by hosting camps, guest speakers and other events that will be focused around suicide prevention and awareness. The foundation also plans to support other organizations that have similar goals and distribute the CJ Smuin Memorial Baseball Scholarship.
“Over the last ten months, we have felt little nudges when it’s time to keep moving forward or do something new,” Smuin’s mother, Nicole, shared. “Sometimes we embrace the nudge, and other times we fight it – usually without success. This latest nudge is more than a small one; but it is one we feel is so important.”
She continued by explaining what the creation of the organization means to the board and the Smuin family in particular.
“In creating CJ’s foundation, our goal all along has been to remember our son for the way he lived his life and provide scholarships to baseball players who exhibit his passion and love of the game. However, our biggest goal is to spread awareness about the effect on our family – and so many others – when he decided to end his life. We’ve said all along, we never want another family to feel this pain, and we are willing to do anything it takes to help prevent it.”
The CJ Smuin Memorial Foundation’s website shared that the organization will continue to honor the way that Smuin lived through its efforts and by keeping his defining characteristics and memory close.
The website will also give access to the upcoming events that will be hosted through the non-profit organization. These include the CJ Smuin Hitting Camp, which is slated to take place on Jan. 28 and 29, as well as a banquet dinner featuring mental health expert Nevin Alderman.