This past Sunday, October 5 at 2 p.m., Her Campus UMaine participated in the annual Out of the Darkness Community Walk for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Our team raised over $100 to help the UMaine Community Walk reach its goal of over $10,000.
Numerous tents were set up across the University’s Mall. Information and resource booths, a sign-making tent, flowers and rememberance tents, and more.
The walk started with an Opening Ceremony where families were able to speak about how suicide has affected their lives. Siblings, children and parents were lost and their stories were heartbreaking. Emily Cain was also present and delievered a speech talking about the walk and its importance and a personal story of a friend she had lost to suicide. The ceremony gave us all something to think about during the walk.
We all marched through the town of Orono, with a pit stop at the Orono Public Library, then made our way to the Steamplant Parking Lot for the Closing Ceremony. At this ceremony, the names of people lost to suicide were read aloud as their loved ones placed flowers in the Stillwater River in rememberance.
It was a very emotional walk that really opened everyone’s eyes to the importance of suicide awareness. The Her Campus UMaine team could not be prouder of giving the foundation our support and being a part of the community walk.