Suicide is not an easy topic to discuss, but that’s precisely the reason that I feel so passionate about my work with the Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas. On March 20, we will hold our second annual Fashion Stars for a Cause Gala to help support the SCC, and I’d like to encourage all my friends and readers here to get involved in any way that you can. If that means attending the event, if that means buying a shirt, or if that means posting about it on social media, it will be a valuable contribution.
When Yvonne Crum, chair and founder of Fashion Stars for a Cause, first approached me with this opportunity, I knew I had to accept. I wasn’t sure what this would mean for me or for my personal journey to healing, but helping this cause and doing this work has peeled back layers of hidden grief in my own family’s tragedy. It also shed light on private suffering, both for me and for many people around me. Suicide is something that we try to tuck away and forget, but the effects make themselves known eventually. That’s why it’s important to not only talk about suicide and bring it out in the open, but to make a real commitment to action and change.
This year at the Fashion Stars for a Cause gala, the SCC and Belk will be raising money and awareness to help prevent suicide. Twelve women from the North Texas community have been selected as fashion stars. If you’d like to attend the gala and help support the SCC, you can do that here.
If you’d like to purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win a 3-night getaway in Cabo San Lucas, do that here (one ticket for $50 or three for $100). I’d like to add here that I did sell the winning ticket last year. So, I have a good feeling that this tradition could continue…
But if you can’t commit to the gala or a raffle ticket, we also have custom-designed T-shirts for sale. Half of the proceeds go toward the SCC. You can order one here.
Finally, please spread awareness, not only of the gala but also of our need to bring suicide and suicide prevention out of the darkness. Follow the SCC on Facebook. Tweet about the event. Share it on Instagram. Talk about these issues with your friends and family. Sometimes that’s all we need to do to give others the confidence to start the conversation. Someone is listening. Someone cares. Right now, let’s collectively raise our voices!
