The local chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is holding an Out of the Darkness fundraising walk at Gypsy Hill Park in Staunton on Saturday, Oct. 10.
Sign up today at afspwalks.donordrive.com/GSV.
You might remember that #TeamAFP was actively involved in organizing local AFSP fundraising walks back before the COVID pandemic shut the world down for a couple of years there.
It’s good to see a new group, the Greater Shenandoah Valley-Charlottesville region committee of the Virginia state chapter of AFSP, picking up the ball here.
The data on suicide are harrowing – suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and the second leading cause of death among youth and young adults aged 15–34; nearly 50,000 people are estimated to have died by suicide in 2025, maintaining one of the highest annual totals on record.
The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher.
The Out of the Darkness walks, from our experience, are a lot more than just fundraisers – they’re opportunities to raise awareness about the impacts of suicide, to bring attention to how we need to better prioritize, individually and as a society, our mental health, and to connect with others who have lost loved ones.
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Chris Graham
