Long Island Chapter Receives a Top Fundraising Award for Out of the Darkness Community Walk
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The Long Island Chapter received a Top Fundraising Award as the #5 Walk in the country for the Jones Beach Out of the Darkness Community Walk at the 2024 Chapter Leadership Conference in Orlando, FL. Thank you to our Walk Chair, Walk Committee, event sponsors and the Walk participants for all of your efforts in raising awareness and funds to further our mission of saving lives and bringing hope to those affected by suicide. YOU are making an impact in a big way and helping us to be a leader in the country.
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Featured Program:
Finding Hope: Guidance for Supporting Those at Risk
Finding Hope: Guidance for Supporting Those At Risk is a 90-minute presentation that provides in-depth, practical information for those supporting someone with lived experience. This program offers education and resources on the process of recovery after a suicidal crisis, warning signs to look out for, planning for safety, and crisis response. It also addresses the different treatment levels in the realm of mental health, and how participants can practice self-care as they support someone in their lives at risk for suicide.
This program is offered by trained presenters through AFSP’s chapters and is available for communities in an in-person or virtual setting. The target audience for this program is loved ones and supporters of those with lived experience, and community members interested in a more in-depth education program.
Upcoming Finding Hope programs:
March 19th | 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
April 23rd | 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Interested in becoming a trained presenter for this program? Contact our Programs Manager, Katie Deitz, to find out more about getting trained: kdeitz@afsp.org
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Presenter Spotlight: Chris Tafone
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Chris is a member of the Education Committee and a trained presenter for Talk Saves Lives and It’s Real: Teens and Mental Health. He first became trained in November 2023 and since then has launched into promoting these programs in the community. Chris used his platform as a lawyer on Long Island to reach out to the Suffolk and Nassau County Bar Associations and was able to schedule Talk Saves Lives presentations for both organizations! He continues to do amazing work for suicide prevention in the community and we are grateful to have him as part of the AFSP LI team! |
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We offer several free programs for suicide prevention, suitable for your workplace, school, faith-based center, health group, and more. Please fill out our Program Request Form to bring one of these free programs to your community! |
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Volunteer Spotlight: John Gonzalez
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John Gonzalez is a suicide loss survivor who has lost several family members to suicide. He began his engagement with AFSP Long Island as a Healing Conversations volunteer, providing one-time support and connection to loss survivors. In June 2023, AFSP LI was able to sponsor John to attend a Suicide Bereavement Support Group Facilitator Training. After the heartbreaking loss of his sister last year, John was inspired to channel his grief into positive change, founding the non-profit organization "Blue Healing Journeys." Under its umbrella, he offers sailing outings, support group workshops and retreats through the affiliate "Sail to Heal" and art therapy workshops through the other affiliate, "Paint to Heal." John was able to use the skills he learned at the facilitator training to help other loss survivors here on Long Island. John was our keynote speaker at Long Island's 2023 International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day event and in January was able to attend Chapter Leadership Conference to learn more about the work of AFSP. John continues to be an amazing advocate for mental health and suicide prevention and we are grateful to have him as part of our AFSP LI team!
To learn more about Blue Healing Journeys and their Sail to Heal and Paint to Heal programs, click here! |
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Want to get more involved with AFSP Long Island?
We have a wide variety of ways to get involved! Learn more about volunteering with us: |
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Questions about volunteering? Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Katrina Zendrain, at afsplongisland@gmail.com. Ready to get involved? Fill out a volunteer application today to get started: |
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Team Spotlight: Team Shane
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Team Shane was started in February 2022 in loving memory of Shane William Thomas Meeks V who died by suicide in 2021 just days after his 15th birthday. Shane's mom, Abbey, learned about the Out of the Darkness Walks on Facebook and wanted to throw her grief into action to create something positive out of the tragedy of losing her son. She started a Facebook group, created an event, started posting relentlessly, used her business associations to find corporate sponsors to get team shirts, and merchandise for their walkers, and the rest is history. In their first walk in 2022, Team Shane had more than 120 people walking with them and approximately 75 again in 2023. Since their inception, Team Shane has raised $56,000 for Long Island Out of the Darkness Walks and plans to keep growing that number this year!
Team Shane will be holding a psychic night fundraiser on May 14th to raise money for their team this year. This event is open to the public and we invite you to show your support for Team Shane by considering attending! For more information about this event, click here! |
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Fundraising Tip/Idea of the Month:
March Madness Bracket Challenge
March is college basketball season- take advantage of The Big Dance to raise money for your walk team by starting a March Madness Bracket Challenge! Start by creating a bracket pool (CBS Sports and ESPN are good options for this!) and recruiting friends, family, and coworkers to join in for some friendly competition. Each participant that joins the pool pays an entry fee and creates their own bracket. The entry fees are pooled together for the winnings (you can decide what type of split you want to do for winnings and donation). Participants earn points for every win they correctly selected on their bracket and at the end of the tournament, the person with the highest number of points wins a cash prize from the entry fees, with the rest of the split being donated to your team! |
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Have a different fundraising idea but need some assistance getting started? Reach out to Carrie, our Special Events Manager, for support at caronson@afsp.org
Planning a fundraiser for your team and want it highlighted in our newsletter or on social media? Let us know! Reach out to Katie, our Programs Manager, with more info about your event at kdeitz@afsp.org |
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Click on each event image to learn more/register for event! |
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Cabin Fever Music Festival
at Raphael Vineyard & Winery
Saturday, March 9th
Raphael Vineyard & Winery, Peconic
Event Time: 1:00 - 4:00 PM
Admission: Free!
Join us at Raphael Vineyard and Winery in Peconic for an afternoon of live music and great wine! There will be raffles and a 50/50 and 10% of all bottle sales will be donated to AFSP Long Island! |
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Suffolk County Community College Campus Walk
Saturday, April 20th
SCCC Ammerman Campus, Selden
Registration: 9:00 AM
Event Time: 10:00 AM
Walk is a 3 mile loop around the campus starting at the Veterans Plaza behind the Babylon Student Center! Open to everyone in the community, not just SCCC students! |
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Hike for Hope
Sunday, May 19th
Sunken Meadow State Park, Kings Park
Registration: 9:00 AM
Event time: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Lace up your hiking boots and get ready to join us for our newest Spring event: Hike for Hope! You will have the choice of hiking either a 3 mile or 5 mile trail to raise funds and awareness for mental health and suicide prevention. All ages and abilities are welcome!
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Pups & Peeps Dog Walk
Saturday, June 22nd
Sands Point Preserve, Sands Point
Registration: 9:00 AM
Event time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
The Pups and Peeps Loop the Trails Dog Walk began in 2017 in loving memory of Port Washington resident Flavio Barbosa and has grown into a community event raising awareness and funds for mental health education and suicide prevention efforts. Leash up your pups and join us to prevent suicide!
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Want to stay up-to-date with AFSP LI? Follow us on social media! |
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