The Yellow Ribbon Project: It's more than a ribbon... It's a lifeline

Throughout the years we have done a variety of activities and events. We have had professional speakers come to our school and conduct an assembly which informed the student body about suicide awareness and prevention. The club has also made posters that were hung in every classroom that contained business cards in them that said ‘It’s OK to Ask 4 Help’ and had suicide hotline numbers. We’ve held a variety of activities which have included creating a chain-of-life, a Pledge-To-Stay-Alive day, and a Celebrate Life day which included posters of ‘why I love life.’ I designed Yellow Ribbon Club T-shirts that the members wear once a week that say “It’s more than a ribbon… it’s a life line.” The shirts are a symbol to remind students that we are active members of Yellow Ribbon Club and certified in suicide awareness and prevention. At the community level we have given PowerPoint presentations at one of the public libraries nearby. The club has also placed ribbons and cards in windows and on bulletin boards of community buildings. We have also done many successful community fundraising events including putting on a 5K Yellow Ribbon walk/run, bake sales, and car washes. We plan to keep up with our current activities and community involvement. Future plans of action include reaching out to the state of Colorado and spreading the news about suicide awareness and prevention. In doing so we hope that Colorado’s suicide rate will decrease as a whole and more and more people will seek help. We plan on having assemblies at the majority of Colorado’s high schools so that all students will be informed about suicide awareness. We are also planning on setting up a speech on the topic and having parents, teachers, administrators, and health professionals from around the state attend. We hope to make the Yellow Ribbon walk/run a yearly event and someday be as big as Race for the Cure.