Members of the Rochester-based Strength in Numbers nonprofit have scheduled a Youth Suicide Prevention Event from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on July 9 at Batavia Downs.
The theme: “You Are Not Alone.”
The evening will feature dinner and drinks, a silent auction, merchandise sales, and a motorcycle run. Ticket holders will receive Batavia Downs Casino Game Play Credit. Musician Joel Russlett is scheduled to perform.
If you want to participate, then you must act fast.
Organizer Dan Clor said the event can only accommodate 200 guests. Tickets are $100 per person. People who wish to attend must email Clor at DanClor@strengthinnumbersorg.org
According to the Maryland-based Walden University, suicide is the third leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 to 24 and takes 4,600 lives annually.
Clor cited school bullying and sexual abuse as only some of the reasons why young people feel distraught and take their own lives.
“Generations in the past, if there was bullying at school, young people could go in their rooms or play in their backyards or be around their neighborhoods. But social media basically puts all of that on blast at a worldwide level. Young people are so connected all the time. Social media has added to the challenges,” Clor said. “Kids are disconnecting more. They are putting headsets on and playing in their rooms. There is that communication from human to human without devices [that they are not getting].”
Members of the riding group Bikers Against Child Abuse (B.A.C.A) and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (ASFP) are scheduled to speak.
Clor said the July 9 event will highlight Strength in Numbers’ Youth Mentorship Program.
“The mentorships we have are creative avenues for these kids to have a healthy outlet through their struggles,” Clor said, adding the program includes fitness and martial arts training.
“On the flip side of that, we also have music and art outlets, yoga, that kind of thing.”
The July 9 event will also honor the lives of Madeline Bartz and Makenna Dadey, who are no longer with us, said organizer Sara Betz.
“Madeline was the type of girl who, if she saw you upset, she would do everything she could to make you happy. She was a cheerleader, outgoing, a dancer and loved to play music,” Betz said.
“Makenna was into music, drawing, volleyball, and she also sang.”
Clor said he and his colleagues have held Youth Suicide Prevention Awareness gatherings in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Austin, Nashville, Washington, D.C., Boston, and Philadelphia. They will organize similar events elsewhere throughout the country and even internationally.
“We are looking to build new relationships and move this initiative forward at a much larger scale,” Clor said.
For more information, visit https://strengthinnumbersorg.org
Submitted photo.
