UW-Madison student-activists spent their Sunday morning walking more than three miles to raise both support and funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
The walk began at Sellery Residence Hall, continued toward Lake Mendota and followed the Lakeshore Path through campus.
“Each year, suicide claims more lives than war, murder, and natural disasters combined,” the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s website said. “Yet suicide prevention doesn't receive anywhere near the funding as other leading causes of death. It's up to Walkers like us to make a difference.”
The walk was a joint effort between the foundation and UW-Madison-based Ask.Listen.Save. The campus organization provides students educational workshops related to mental wellbeing, de-stigmatization of mental illness and other resources.
“Ask.Listen.Save is here to make sure no one ever feels alone or ashamed because of their mental state,” the group’s website said. “We hope that by educating our student body about suicide and mental illness, we can create a safe, welcoming, mentally friendly campus that supports and helps those in need.”
The event's goal was to raise $50,000, but instead raised an impressive total of $36,112 for the Madison campus walk.
Walkers were able to bring their dogs to the event with a $10 donation as part of their “Paws for Prevention” initiative.
According to a 2013 study, suicide was the second-leading cause of death for college-aged students behind general accidents.
