1. PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 7, 2015
Ramapo College of New Jersey
505 Ramapo Valley Rd, Mahwah NJ 07430
Contact: Allison McNamara, Lauren Stallone, Nina LoPiccolo
PH: 732-740-0737
amcnama1@ramapo.edu, lstallon@ramapo.edu, nlopicco@ramapo.edu
RCNJ Seniors Partner with American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Reducing the Stigma
Flag Memorial and Guest Speaker Comes to Ramapo College to Promote Suicide Awareness
Mahwah, NJ (May 7, 2015) – Hold Onto Hope, senior project class partnered with American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention to stop the stigma against suicide and raise awareness for mental illness. This campaign took
place the week of Monday, March 23rd to Friday the 27th. This week long campaign brought together the
students of Ramapo to understand the issue of suicide in college students every year. It gave the students a
unique opportunity to participate in the framework of Hold onto Hope’s campaign and come together as one to
support the lives of college students taken every year to suicide.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is a non-profit organization and leader in the fight against
suicide. They fund research, offer educational programs, advocate for public policy, and support those affected
by suicide. They have 75 local chapters nationwide and continue growing.
Hold onto Hope encourages students who struggle with a mental illness or students who are coping with a loss
of loved one from suicide, to seek assistance from a professional. Seniors, Allison McNamara, Lauren Stallone,
and Nina LoPiccolo are the faces behind the Hold onto Hope campaign. The three global communications and
media majors have put an entire year of their college education to this campaign. The campaign’s goal is to
reduce the stigma associated with suicide, bring together the students of Ramapo College, and raise awareness
on the issue.
Ramapo’s Counseling Center and Active Minds organization partnered with Hold onto Hope to sponsor the
campaign events. “The Hold Onto Hope campaign creativity educated the Ramapo community to recognize the
signs and symptoms of depression and other mental health disorders, encourage students to reach out for help
and utilize mental health services, and increase awareness that suicide is preventable. As the Director of the
Center for Health and Counseling Services, I couldn’t have been more excited to partner with this enthusiastic,
dedicated group of students on such an important campaign” said Judy Green.
The campaign week took place March 23rd to the 27th at Ramapo College of New Jersey, including an
educational screening on stories of depression in college students, guest speakers Wendy and Steve Sefcik to
tell the story of their son T.J. who took his life to suicide, and three full days of a flag memorial located by the
campuses Arch. The flag memorial was to show the campus that many students are affected by this issue and
for each student to connect themselves to the issue. 1,100 black flags represented the college students who
commit suicide every year. Hold onto Hope raised over $150 to donate to AFSP to help fund research.
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