The suicide prevention organization To Write Love On Her Arms is currently receiving applications for their high school campaign called “The Storytellers.” Charleston High School won their fundraising division last year.
Charleston students competed against 23 other teams in their bracket and won first place by raising over $2,000 for To Write Love On Her Arms.
“The Storytellers” is a high school campaign where schools compete by fundraising. They try to educate and raise awareness about suicide and depression.
Savannah Kesselring is a Charleston student involved in “The Storytellers.” She said that her interest comes from a very personal place.
“Well, my dad had committed suicide,” Kesselring said. “And it just kinda, like, hit a spark with me and I just thought it would be a great idea for our school.”
Danny Kesselring, her father, was a major presence in Charleston's community and schools. Kesselring is already planning activities for this year's “The Storytellers.”
Chloe Grabanski, director of Fundraising and Reporter Relations for To Write Love said she created “The Storytellers” because depression, self-injury, and suicide are so prevalent in high school students. She wants the message of To Write Love On Her Arms to reach high schoolers and give them a way to be involved.
“I just spent the summer really trying to come up with a campaign and something that would work in high school students that equipped them to talk about mental health, do something for To Write Love, which is the fundraising, and then also build community in their schools and the towns they live in, so that's kind of where it all came from,” Grabanski said.
The Storytellers has raised over $150,000 for To Write Love On Her Arms.
Around 320 schools have participated in “The Storytellers.” Most of them have been from around the United States, but several were located in the U.K., Poland, Germany, Australia, Canada, and South Africa.