The Lifesavers Give Big to American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Team Name: The Lifesavers
Team Members: Tommy Steinke, Kristen Kruglik, Kim Mirto and Morgan Vollero (seniors)
Charity: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

The Lifesavers’ choice of charity for ’s Student Council’s certainly hits home, especially for team member

Mirto’s cousin committed suicide on Oct. 3, 2009 and ever since, she and other family members have been involved in helping the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) through volunteering, donating and participating in walks with Vollero.  

For Mirto and her group–which also includes fellow seniors Tommy Steinke, Kristen Kruglik and Morgan Vollero–raising money for AFSP was an easy decision.

“This organization raises money to spread awareness,” said . “I feel like people brush it [talking about suicide] off because it’s awkward. It’s a really important issue because you don’t know what people are dealing with.”

The Lifesavers have set a fundraising goal of $1,000. Mirto said that friends and family have been more than generous as the issue hits close to home, though there are other fundraising ideas in the works including a bake sale and collecting money outside of Stop & Shop.

This is not the first time the seniors have participated in the . The girls raised money for the American Cancer Society as sophomores, as well.

“I was excited to do it again this year because we didn’t raise that much money sophomore year,” said Mirto. “We didn’t take it that seriously and this year we really want to raise a lot of money. It’s important to be part of projects like this because it’s not only a good way to raise money for charities, which is important, but also a good way to get involved with school and the community.”

To make a donation to the Lifesavers, contact Kim Mirto at 203-927-5266.