A Lawrence crisis counseling center received a big show of support Saturday when about 100 people turned out to participate in a bicycle rally fund-raiser.

Among those riding was Todd Moore, an employee with the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department.

“I just thought it would be a good way to help support a service that is very valuable to the community,” said Moore, a Lawrence resident who also is a member of the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization, and who rode with his little brother, D’marco Jackson, 11. Accompanying D’marco was a friend, Macray Urish, 9.

The riders paid entry fees to ride anywhere from six miles to 50 miles to benefit Headquarters Counseling Center. Headquarters has been providing free round-the-clock counseling services, suicide prevention and intervention hot lines for Douglas County and Kansas. It also conducts volunteer counselor training and a Healing After Suicide support group for those who have lost someone to suicide.

The second annual benefit, billed as “Life Support Rally 2005,” has two purposes, Headquarters director Marcia Epstein said.

“It’s to let people know about our services and to raise money to support those services,” she said.

Headquarters receives about 14,000 calls per year on its hot lines, Epstein said.

The services provided by Headquarters are the envy of other cities, including Topeka, where they have been trying to start a similar operation, Moore said.

Cyclists, from left, Manya Schmidt, Liz Munns and Katie Schmidt, all of Topeka, get set to take off in the Life Support Rally 2005, a fund-raiser for Headquarters Counseling Center. Saturday's event featured bike rides to raise money for the suicide prevention center.

Riders started their routes at Southwest Junior High School, 2511 Inverness Drive, and, depending on the route they chose, could have pedaled all the way to Lone Star Lake or Bloomington Beach at Clinton Lake and back. About 20 members of the Douglas County Amateur Radio Club set up stations along the routes to monitor the bicyclists.

The bicycle ride was a family affair for many who participated. Taking a six-mile route were John Edens, and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter Morgan 10, and son Cameron, 6, along with grandparents Ron and Jean Kiby, all of Lawrence.

6News video: Bicycle rally benefits local counseling center

“Grandpa signed us up,” John Edens said with a laugh.