PREVIEW: UAlbany Out of the Darkness Walk Has 16th Anniversary this Weekend
04/26 @ UAlbany
“At the University at Albany, we really care about folks' mental health. It's a strong value that we have because we know that being well is foundational to being successful as a student, as a professional, and really just as a person.”
This Sunday, April 26 from 12-2 p.m, SUNY University at Albany will host their 16th annual Out of the Darkness Walk, which fundraises for suicide prevention. The walk is hosted by UAlbany’s Office of Health Promotion in collaboration with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention — the recipient of all donations.
“We work really closely with them to coordinate all of the logistics and fundraising that go behind [the walk],” said event coordinator Natalie Jackson, Health Promotion Specialist.
Out of the Darkness walks are hosted at college campuses across the country to raise awareness about mental health. Funds raised from the walk will be utilized by the American Foundation for Sucide Prevention within the Capital Region.
Aside from the walk, the event will also have snacks, yard games, resources for students and community residents, an arts and crafts station, and an area to share messages of hope and remembrance for those impacted by suicide.
“At the University at Albany, we really care about folks' mental health. It's a strong value that we have because we know that being well is foundational to being successful as a student, as a professional, and really just as a person. So, hosting the Out of the Darkness Walk is a great way for the university to showcase that value,” Jackson said.
Preparations for the next walk begin immediately after the previous one ends; throughout the summer, a report is made with participant feedback from directly after the event. But the real planning for the next walk begins in January.
“By that point, we are gathering together on and off campus committee members to help us plan the walk, reserving spaces, booking, getting all of our rentals in line, starting to look for sponsorships and all that,” said Jackson.
Anyone in the community — not just students — are welcome to volunteer through the UAlbany Engage platform. Volunteers will be used to set up and manage tables, manage lines, clean up and show people where to go; some will be stationed at the free parking lots to direct attendees to the registration at Entry Plaza.
The walk will occur on UAlbany’s Purple Path, which goes around the Uptown Campus.
Jackson said, “It's clean. It has a maintained sidewalk. So our walk, weather dependent — assuming that it's going to be nice and sunny that day — will go around half of that purple path and then cut through the campus to complete a mile and a half loop.”
If the weather isn’t so sunny, like last year, the walk will occur under the covered podium area — which will make for only about a quarter mile.
UAlbany offers multiple mental health resources for students: the Office of Health Promotion, which increases knowledge related to health and wellness; Counseling and Psychological Services, which provides various forms of virtual and in-person counseling and therapy for students; and the Middle Earth Peer Assistance Hotline, a private (but non-confidential) hotline where anyone — even non-students — can call and talk with trained students about their personal issues.
Multiple public servants will be speaking as part of a ceremony about the community’s commitment to supporting those who struggle with their mental health, and those who have been impacted by suicide. Jackson shared that, among others, “New York State Senator Patricia Fahey, New York State Assembly member Gabriella Romero, and Mayor Dorsey Applyrs are going to be speaking at the walk, in addition to Director of Counseling and Psychological Services on campus, Dr. Karen Carusone.”
This ceremony will also include a sand-pouring ceremony.
“Folks who have been impacted in different ways by suicide pour colored sand into one vase to represent that. We are all here together and different colors represent different things. For example, orange for the loss of a sibling and silver for first responders. We are still looking for folks to do that sand pouring part. So that's another way that folks can volunteer and get involved,” said Jackson.
After the sand pouring ceremony, the actual walk will commence, led by the UAlbany Marching Band, and other student organizations that have been integral to planning, promoting, and fundraising for the walk. These include Middle Earth, the Student Association Disability and Health Department, the UAlbany chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness, and Five Quad Volunteer Ambulance Service.
Sponsors for the event include Alice Medicine and CDPHP. Dubella’s Subs, Blaze Pizza, and Chipotle were part of “Dine to Donate” fundraisers, where 20% of proceeds were donated. In total, over $25,000 has been raised for the event so far. Top fundraisers include Patrick Hughes, Amanda June, Kelly Parker, Ashley Ostrander, and Grace Link; all have raised over $500.
You can register for the Out of the Darkness Walk here. Free parking is available in the State Quad Employee lot.
To make a 100% tax-deductible donation, join a team, register for the Out of the Darkness Walk, sign-up for a volunteer shift, or learn more, visit the official website here.