Suicide prevention display coming to Purdue University

1 message

Tara McVey <tara@activeminds.org> Mon, Mar 24, 2014 at 11:48 AM
To: editor@purdueexponent.org
Hi Saran,


This spring, 1,100 backpacks will travel across the country but this is no ordinary
backpacking trip.

These backpacks are part of Active Minds nationally recognized suicide awareness
exhibit, Send Silence Packing, and each backpack represents one of the 1,100 college
students who die by suicide every year. From 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Monday, March
31, the Send Silence Packing exhibit will be displayed at Purdue University.

I would like to invite you to cover this event. I have attached a media release, fact sheet
about Send Silence Packing and pictures to help you visualize the impact of this powerful
exhibit. You can also watch this video from a recent Send Silence Packing display at
Palomar College in San Marcos, Calif. There will be suicide survivors, college students and
Active Minds staff at the display who would be willing to share their stories.

If you need any more information to create a meaningful story for your audience, you can
reach Lauren Redding at lauren@activeminds.org or at 202.332.9595 x119. More
information about Send Silence Packing is available
at www.activeminds.org/sendsilencepacking and on our blog
at www.sendsilencepacking.org.

Everyone has a reason. Everyone plays a role.

Best,
Tara

--

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Lauren Redding
Communications Coordinator
Active Minds, Inc.
202-332-9595 x 119
lauren@activeminds.org

Suicide Awareness Display to Stop at Purdue University
Award-winning Public Exhibit Representing the Number of College Students Lost Each Year
to Suicide

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN. Active Minds Send Silence Packing display a nationally
recognized public education exhibit of 1,100 backpacks, representing the number of college
students who die by suicide every year will be on display from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday,
March 31 at Purdue Universitys Hello Walk.

Send Silence Packing is a program of Active Minds Inc., the leading national nonprofit
organization working to engage students in the conversation about mental health. The
powerful outdoor exhibit of 1,100 donated backpacks helps shed light on college student
suicide and promotes a healthy dialogue around mental health.

To give a face to the lives lost, personal stories and stories written by families and friends
accompany the backpacks. Passersby will be invited to walk among the backpacks and
read the stories of those who have died. In addition, Active Minds will hand out literature on
mental health, suicide prevention and where to seek help.

Active Minds was established in 2003 by Alison Malmon then a junior at the University of
Pennsylvania after tragically losing her only brother, 22-year-old Brian Malmon, to suicide.

Active Minds has worked for 10 years to fight stigmas and raise awareness about mental
health, but our work is never over, said Malmon, now the executive director of Active
Minds, Inc. Send Silence Packing is a powerful visual of the victims and survivors of suicide
and lets every student, parent, brother, sister and friend know if they are depressed or
suicidal, they are not alone and that there is help.

The Spring 2014 tour kicks off on Wednesday, March 26 at Northeast Wisconsin Technical
College and will travel to 10 additional locations throughout the Midwest, closing with a city
display in Twin Cities, Minn. on April 30.

This program was unveiled on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in 2008, with a keynote
speech by The Honorable Patrick Kennedy. Since then, more than 300,000 people in 85
cities throughout the country have experienced Send Silence Packing. For more
information, including a complete list of the Spring 2014 tour dates and locations,
visit www.ActiveMinds.org/SendSilencePacking.

Active Minds continues to collect backpacks in honor of loved ones. If you've been impacted
by suicide you can send in your story to www.Activeminds.org/ShareYourStory.

###



4 attachments


About_Active_Minds.pdf
642K


Fact_Sheet.pdf
569K


Media_Release_Purdue.pdf
513K


Photo_Set.pdf
1252K