The Annual Whitney’s Walk For Life program raised $163,000 toward youth suicide prevention efforts Thursday. The money pays for staff with the Hult Center For Healthy living to visit students in the region and talk about suicide prevention and awareness. Kayla Thompson coordinates the annual Whitney’s Walk. She says the program has a sustained impact:
“We hand out surveys at the end of the program and we’ve heard comments such as ‘I was looking for a reason not to commit suicide, and you gave me some hope so thank you. So we’ve received some really powerful feedback from this program.”
Thompson says this year’s fundraiser brought-in $25,000 more compared to last year. She says 17 people in Illinois attempt suicide every day.