MERIDIAN, Idaho — Three 7th grade students at St. Ignatius Catholic School in Meridian put their faith in action for a recent school project.
Grayson Gallina, Lucas Hayes, and Mateo Wagner, all 13 years old, said they are on a mission to save lives.
"We are hosting a run for suicide prevention," Hayes said. "Every 40 seconds someone commits suicide in our world, and we thought that was alarming and we wanted to put a stop to it."
It's called the "Run for Life."
"Suicide prevention is a big issue, because in America one of the number one leading causes of death is suicide, and it's common for middle schoolers and children. So we decided to address that issue being in middle school," Grayson said.
This school year has been a difficult one in the Treasure Valley. There was an alarming rise in student suicides in the fall of 2023. Our schools wanted to do all they could to help kids in crisis. Many schools, like St. Ignatius, brought in mental health experts to talk to the kids.
"A counselor came in and basically taught us about the signs of suicide, and when and where to help someone," Wagner said. "That helped us choose this project because we know there are a lot of people out there who are silently trying to fight suicide."
The boys say, when they were choosing a school project representing putting their faith in action, a run for life just made sense.
"We chose this issue just because it's pretty common among kids our age, and it's really sad, an almost overlooked topic and it needs to be addressed," said Gallina.
There was a running and walking path for participants. Students and families took part, and they all donated to the cause. The boys raised over $1,300 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
The boys' religion teacher Ydalia Yado couldn't be more proud.
"We always want our students to put their faith into action, and they are doing just that. They get to work together as a team on this," Yado said. "I am so proud of these students."
The boys said it felt good to do something about such an important issue. They hope they can inspire more kids to do the same.
A reminder for anyone out there struggling with suicidal thoughts. Help is waiting right now. Call or text the Idaho Suicide Hotline - 988 - if you are struggling with suicide, a mental or emotional problem, having trouble with drugs or alcohol, or having family or relationship problems - reach out. Someone is always there for you on the other end of the line. You can call for yourself, or someone you care about. Crisis support is available 24/7 every day of the year.
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