Out of the Darkness Community Walk set for Oct. 14
The Psychology Club and Office of Volunteer and Community Services will sponsor the Out of the Darkness Community Walk for Suicide Prevention on Saturday, Oct. 14 at the State University of New York at Fredonia. The walk will benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s research, prevention and support projects.
Sign-in will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the community picnic grove at the corner of Brigham Avenue and Temple Street. To register, make a donation or to support a participant, please visit supporting.afsp.org. Individuals who raise $150 or more will earn a free t-shirt.
Over 70 communities sponsor an Out of the Darkness Community Walk each year. The upcoming event will mark the third annual walk at SUNY Fredonia. In 2005, 147 members of the campus and local communities participated in the walk, raising roughly $2,000. Dr. Vanessa McKinney, advisor of the SUNY Fredonia Psychology Club, noted that organizers hope to attract 200 walkers this year.
“We really love this project,” Dr. McKinney said. “We feel it is important to raise awareness about this issue and take this opportunity to connect with the community. It allows us to show that suicide prevention resources are available, and it gives the local community a chance to see our students in a different light.”
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide claims a life once every 18 minutes in the United States but the National Institutes of Health allocated an increase of just 0.7 percent increase for suicide research in 2006, well below the national inflation rate of 3.5 percent.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention works to increase support for suicide research through its fundraising projects, grant awards to suicide investigators and leadership role in such initiatives as the Suicide Data Bank and the Centers on Intervention for the Prevention of Suicide.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has also created a new film, “The Truth about Suicide: Real Stories of Depression in College” to support suicide prevention on campuses throughout the United States. As of 2004, suicide was the third leading cause of death among 15 to 24-year-olds and the second major cause of death among college students.
For more information on the Out of the Darkness Community Walk for Suicide Prevention, please contact the SUNY Fredonia Office of Volunteer and Community Services at 716-673-3690.
Sign-in will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the community picnic grove at the corner of Brigham Avenue and Temple Street. To register, make a donation or to support a participant, please visit supporting.afsp.org. Individuals who raise $150 or more will earn a free t-shirt.
Over 70 communities sponsor an Out of the Darkness Community Walk each year. The upcoming event will mark the third annual walk at SUNY Fredonia. In 2005, 147 members of the campus and local communities participated in the walk, raising roughly $2,000. Dr. Vanessa McKinney, advisor of the SUNY Fredonia Psychology Club, noted that organizers hope to attract 200 walkers this year.
“We really love this project,” Dr. McKinney said. “We feel it is important to raise awareness about this issue and take this opportunity to connect with the community. It allows us to show that suicide prevention resources are available, and it gives the local community a chance to see our students in a different light.”
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide claims a life once every 18 minutes in the United States but the National Institutes of Health allocated an increase of just 0.7 percent increase for suicide research in 2006, well below the national inflation rate of 3.5 percent.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention works to increase support for suicide research through its fundraising projects, grant awards to suicide investigators and leadership role in such initiatives as the Suicide Data Bank and the Centers on Intervention for the Prevention of Suicide.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has also created a new film, “The Truth about Suicide: Real Stories of Depression in College” to support suicide prevention on campuses throughout the United States. As of 2004, suicide was the third leading cause of death among 15 to 24-year-olds and the second major cause of death among college students.
For more information on the Out of the Darkness Community Walk for Suicide Prevention, please contact the SUNY Fredonia Office of Volunteer and Community Services at 716-673-3690.
