New York City Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk – June 20-21.
· This is the 25th Overnight Walk!
· This is the fifth time we have hosted an Overnight Walk in New York.
· Register at theovernight.org.
· Refer to the event as the Out of the Darkness Overnight Walk at first mention. Overnight Walk on second reference.
· One night. One goal. Stop Suicide.
· The first Overnight Walk was in 2002. It was a 26 mile walk from Fairfax, Virginia to Washington, D.C.
· The route is approximately 16 and 18 miles, starts and ends in the same place, and goes from sunset to sunrise.
· Last year over three thousand people participated in San Francisco and Philadelphia and raised more than $4 million dollars.
· Walkers agree to raise $1000 (or $700 for students or military).
· When you register, you get a personal fundraising page and a walker coach who is there to help you with fundraising and training tips.
· Walkers wear honor beads to represent their connections to the cause. Red represents the loss of a spouse or partner; white the loss of a child; gold the loss of a parent; orange the loss of a sibling; purple represents the loss of a friend of relative; silver represents the loss of a first responder or military personnel; green represents a personal struggle; teal represents a friend or family member’s struggle; blue represents support of suicide prevention.
· Walk with thousands from dusk till dawn to stop suicide.
· People walk in the Overnight Walk because most of them have been personally affected by suicide and they want to meet people with similar experience and raise awareness.
· To follow along on social media, view #OvernightWalk.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
· The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention leads the fight against suicide. We save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide.
· AFSP is the largest suicide prevention organization in the United States. It has chapters in all 50 states with programs and events nationwide.
· AFSP offers programs that promote suicide awareness, education and prevention.
· AFSP is the largest private funder of suicide prevention research. In 2019, 26 national and international grantees were selected to receive grants totaling more than $6.3 M.
· The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has set a bold goal to reduce the annual suicide rate 20 percent by 2025. That’s tens of thousands of lives.
· For those that have lost someone to suicide, AFSP can connect you to local support events like the International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day held every November or have someone who has experienced a similar loss come visit you through our Survivor Outreach Program.
· More than 400 Community Walks took place across the country this past fall and we expect close to 200 Campus Walks this spring.
· In 2019, more than 300,000 people walked to show their support raising $28 million for suicide prevention.
· Give the website afsp.org.