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June's Charity of the Month:
Fresno Survivors of Suicide Loss

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people between the ages 15 and 24, according to the American Association of Suicidology. In Fresno County, California, Fresno Survivors of Suicide Loss (FSSL) educates and creates preventative suicide awareness amongst thousands of high school students.

FSSL has been awarded a $2,500 grant from the MDRT Foundation. Den M. Stubblefield, CLU, AEP, of Fresno, California, a 35-year MDRT member and Bronze Knight, who sponsored the grant, presented the check to FSSL on June 16, 2005.

Den Stubblefield leading a yellow ribbon seminar.

Stubblefield has been an active volunteer and speaker for the FSSL for the past nine years. This grant will help fund the Yellow Ribbon Youth Suicide Prevention Program, whose goal is to educate youth and encourage active involvement youth. One of the activities which FSSL advocates is the Yellow Ribbon Club. This club, which students can get involved in school, promotes FSSL’s positive life saving messages by reaching out to youth who otherwise would not be exposed to this uncomfortable topic.

“This presentation [provided by FSSL] really helped me understand what suicide is,” said Lauren, a student of Edison High School, in Fresno County, California, who has been involved with FSSL. “Now I know if I am confronted with a problem involving suicide I will know how to handle it.”

FSSL is a charity that provides support for those grieving a suicide loss and also offers community education programs that focus on the prevention of suicide. This charity was started in 1985 after a married couple experienced the death of their 17-year old son as a result of suicide. They began speaking to high school students about suicide-related issues, and after many years FSSL grew into a forceful and life-changing organization that impacts the lives of thousands of high school age students.

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