At Cornell University on April 13, Join the Walk to Prevent Suicide

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Surveys show that poor mental health can hit college students hard. Many struggling students feel that they are alone. I am part of a dedicated group of mental health advocates at Cornell University proving that is not the case. We are working hard to raise awareness about suicide and fight the stigma that keeps many from getting help.

Photo credits: Cornell AFSP

On Sunday April 13, our Cornell volunteer committee of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will host the third annual Out of the Darkness Campus Walk at Cornell.

The 2023 and 2024 walks brought participation from hundreds of students, faculty, and staff and raised more than $40,000 for AFSP research and programming. Our ambitious goal this year is to collect $25,000 in donations.

More than 500 AFSP Out of the Darkness walks are held across the country each year. Besides raising funds, the walks send a message that “suicide is preventable, and no one is alone,” and help build a community around mental health. They show solidarity and bring hope for suicide attempt survivors or loss survivors.

Click here to register, create a fundraising team, or donate to the Walk

This year’s Cornell Walk begins in Barton Hall and follows an accessible two-mile route through the center of the beautiful Cornell campus. It is for people of all fitness levels and abilities. Participants may also walk/roll on Barton Hall’s indoor track.

Fundraising or donating are not requirements to take part in the Walk; everyone from the Cornell community and beyond is welcome.

Walk check-in begins at 11 a.m. in Barton Hall. The event starts 12 Noon with a brief kickoff ceremony; a mental health resource fair featuring local and campus health providers; yard games; a raffle with donated items from local and campus businesses; a memorial and positivity sticky note wall; snacks including cotton candy and popcorn; and a selfie station with Cornell’s own mascot, Touchdown the Big Red Bear.

Speakers include Audrey McDougal, a family consultant with NY FarmNet at Cornell, and Cornell students Disha Mudener and John Grealish.

Sponsors of this year’s Cornell Walk include: the Cornell Work/Life Team; Suicide Prevention and Crisis Services of Tompkins County; NY FarmNet; Halco Home Solutions; Zach Clark State Farm; Be Kind Ithaca; Free Hugs Ithaca; Sumo; and Taste of Thai Express.

For me, as for many other volunteers, Out of the Darkness walks are deeply personal. Just as I was starting college in 2017, I was introduced to AFSP in a traumatic period after my longtime friend Jack Noonan took his own life. The loss of Jack permanently changed who I am. I miss him every day and started my volunteer work in his memory.

Our organizing committee consists of more than 20 members: passionate undergraduates, graduate students, post-graduate students, staff members, faculty members, and local community members. Our goal is to let everyone know that, you matter, you are important, your mental health matters. We don’t want anyone to feel like they are the only ones struggling. So many of us are struggling and we can struggle together and support each other.

Another goal this year is to share mental and physical health resources as far and wide as possible. As mental health and minority groups are under attack right now, we want to spread a message of belonging. We want everyone to know that they are loved, they are wanted, and they matter.

If our countless hours of Walk organizing means just one person seeks and receives help, it is worth every second.

—By Cheyanne Scholl

Cheyanne Scholl is the founder of the Cornell University Out of the Darkness Walk and chair for the 2025 Walk. If you are interested in joining AFSP’s local efforts, please contact Cheyanne at cornellafsp@gmail.com.

If you or someone you know feels the need to speak with a mental health professional, you can call or text the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8, or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741-741.

For AFSP support and/or other resources, please visit www.afsp.org/get-help and www.afsp.org/resources.

April Is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month

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The Cornell University student organization RISEUP and The Sophie Fund on April 1 launched a social media campaign to promote Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

Throughout April, the organizations are posting infographics on their social media platforms about resources to contact for help, behaviors to recognize, plans of action, general statistics about sexual assault, and more.

“Sexual assault is not only very prevalent, but extremely underreported,” said Harmony Guan ’28, head of RISEUP’S mental health committee. “By spreading awareness of the long-lasting impacts of sexual assault, we aim to reduce the widespread stigma and encourage victims to report assaults and feel comfortable enough to share their stories.”

The campaign highlights that sexual violence affects hundreds of thousands of Americans each year. According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), an American is sexually assaulted every 68 seconds, and every nine minutes if that victim is a child.

One out of every six American women and one out of every 33 American men have been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime, RAINN reports.

Sexual violence on college campuses is pervasive, with female students at three times greater risk of assault than women in the general population. According to RAINN, 13 percent of all college students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation. Among undergraduate women alone, the figure is 26.4 percent.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that sexual violence impacts health in many ways and can lead to short and long-term physical and mental health problems.

Guan said that RISEUP, an acronym for Realizing Integration, Support, and Education for Underserved Populations, believes that it is important to discuss how the barriers of accessing help for sexual assault survivors disproportionately affects certain communities.

She said the campaign highlights communities that face difficulties in receiving the help they need, advancing a clearer understanding of the aspects of the healthcare system that need improvement.

Click here to follow the campaign on RISEUP’s Instagram, or here to follow on The Sophie Fund’s Instagram or Facebook page.

Check out the Sophie Fund’s Sexual Assault page: National, state, and local resources to learn about sexual assault and how to deal with it.

Where to Find Help for Your Mental Health

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The Mental Health Support and Crisis Services resource for Tompkins County has been updated for 2025. The brief guide is compiled every year by The Sophie Fund in collaboration with Tompkins County Whole Health, Cayuga Health, Guthrie, and the Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County.

The guide is a hyperlinked listing of essential local services for suicide prevention, psychotherapy, addiction recovery, sexual assault and domestic violence, and support groups. Click on the links for more detailed information about available services and programs.

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Click HERE for other brief mental health guides compiled by The Sophie Fund

Fundraising to Support Healthcare for All

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The Sophie Fund’s 2024 “Cupcake Button” fundraising campaign collected $1,055.00 for the Ithaca Free Clinic.

The campaign was spearheaded by several Cornell University student organizations: Cornell Circle K; Pre-Professional Association Towards Careers in Health (PATCH); Alpha Phi Omega Gamma Chapter (APO); and Cornell Minds Matter.

Leah Goddard, Scott MacLeod, Hunter Leach

At a luncheon at the Statler Hotel on March 21, Circle K Co-Presidents Leah Goddard and Hunter Leach delivered a check for the Ithaca Free Clinic.

“Circle K was proud to support the Ithaca Free Clinic through the Sophie Fund fundraiser. Our Halloween-themed sugar cookie and apple cider sale brought our club together for a meaningful cause,” said Goddard.

“We’re especially thankful for the opportunity to contribute to the Free Clinic’s mission of providing compassionate, accessible healthcare, and we look forward to supporting this important work for years to come,” added Leach.

Click here to make a donation to the Ithaca Free Clinic

“Many thanks to The Sophie Fund and the Cornell students for raising such a sizable contribution! We are so grateful for your support!” said Ithaca Free Clinic Executive Director Norbert McCloskey.

The Ithaca Free Clinic provides medical and other health services to clients regardless of their ability to pay. It primarily serves individuals who are without health insurance, or whose health insurance does not cover the services they need.

According to McCloskey, the Free Clinic provides healthcare services to people who earn too much to be eligible for Medicaid, are too young to be eligible for Medicare, and do not earn nearly enough to afford usable, low copay and low deductible health insurance plans available through the Affordable Care Act’s Market Place.

In the first eight months of 2024, the Free Clinic provided free health care services to 671 individuals (438 female patients and 233 male patients) in 1,269 scheduled appointments.

Representatives from PATCH, Cornell Circle K, Alpha Phi Omega, and Cornell Minds Matter

“PATCH is deeply committed to supporting equitable healthcare, so raising money for the Ithaca Free Clinic was incredibly meaningful to us,” said Lily Ehsan, PATCH’s community service co-chair.

 “As future healthcare professionals, we’re proud to contribute to an organization that provides essential care to our local community regardless of income or insurance status. It was inspiring to see so many Cornell students come together in support of such an important cause.”

The Ithaca Free Clinic receives no federal or state financial funding, completely relying on community support in the form of monetary donations, in-kind donations, and the generous donation of the time and talent of its volunteers.

It opened in 2006 as one of the first to offer both primary medical and holistic care through an integrated model. The Ithaca Health Alliance is a 501(c)3 organization that sponsors and operates the Ithaca Free Clinic. The Alliance has been dedicated to seeking solutions to local healthcare challenges since 1997.

The Sophie Fund organizes the Cupcake Button campaign and the related Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest each fall to promote mental health awareness and raise monies for local nonprofits supporting community mental health. Donors receive a Cupcake Button featuring the image of a cupcake created by Sophie Hack MacLeod, a Cornell art student who died by suicide in 2016 for whom The Sophie Fund is named.

Scott MacLeod, co-founder of The Sophie Fund, expressed his appreciation to the Cornell student organizations for supporting the Ithaca Free Clinic.

“It is gratifying to see Cornell students stepping up to partner with community organizations. The Sophie Fund is proud to work alongside Cornell organizations to advance mental health not only on their campus but in the greater Ithaca community as well.

“In these challenging times, all of us were especially passionate to support the Ithaca Free Clinic, and Norb McCloskey and his team, true champions of healthcare.”

MacLeod said that since 2017 the Cupcake Button campaigns have raised a total of $7,667.66 for eight local nonprofits supporting mental health: Suicide Prevention & Crisis Service of Tompkins County; Mental Health Association in Tompkins County; Advocacy Center of Tompkins County; the Village at Ithaca; The Learning Web; NAMI-Finger Lakes; Family & Children’s Service of Ithaca; and the Ithaca Free Clinic.