MILWAUKEE– Living in New York City during a year long pandemic, there’s not much to do… so why not do something good?
Marquette University graduate Jenny Fischer used her pandemic-imposed free time to dive head-first into a passion project, promoting suicide prevention awareness.
As part of her efforts, Fischer began printing t-shirts, about a year ago, with a simple message printed on the front, “Keep Showing Up”.
“I thought I would get, like 50 orders, but right away I had 100 of them and they kept growing,” she tells WTMJ. To date she’s sold more than 2,000 of them.
“To keep showing up for ourselves and each other is the main foundation. I know words of encouragement can’t change the world but I think it creates conversation,” Fischer said. “In this time and this era of our lives, being able to keep showing up for ourselves and others in some sort of way I’m glad people have been able to cling to it for a sense of peace, a sense of purpose, a passion, whatever it may be.”
Fisher said her mission was inspired, in part, by her own story. She lost her mother to suicide when she was a teenager and lost her grandfather to suicide in 2016.
To support her mission or to donate and get a shirt yourself you can follow this link. To date the campaign has raised roughly $40,000. All proceeds go to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. if you, or someone you know, is struggling with suicidal thoughts, contact the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255.
