Walks For Dagle—A Suicide Prevention Fundraiser

When 19-year-old Ainsley Bryce transferred to the University of Connecticut this year and found out about the Out of the Darkness community walk to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, she immediately thought of her friend Brian Dagle. 

Bryce and Dagle grew up together as neighbors and friends in East Lyme. Last year, Dagle tragically ended his own life. His suicide shocked friends and family and left a giant hole in the hearts of many people in the community. Bryce was one of them. 

"I grew up with him from when I was little," said Bryce. "He was always very outgoing and very excited. He was very outdoorsy. I feel like he knew everyone and he was certainly friends with a lot of people."

In so many ways, Dagle was the last person anyone would have expected to commit suicide. Popular and outgoing, he was active in all sorts of East Lyme High School events, playing lacrosse on the school team and doing the school's morning radio news broadcasts.

After graduating in 2010, he went to Castleton State College in Vermont, which gave him the chance to hit the slopes often to indulge in his passion for snowboarding. He should have had his whole life ahead of him but it ended, sadly, on November 12, 2011, when he was just 19 years old. 

"I think that it caught a lot of people by surprise, but you never know what’s going on in someone’s head," said Bryce. "He was at college when it happened so I wasn’t with him all the time but, talking to people on a regular basis, looking back there were signs but nothing you would point out right away."

"Walks For Dagle" Rallies An Entire Community

When Bryce heard of the fundraiser at UConn, she decided she wanted to take part in it to honor Dagle's memory and to try to do something to prevent something like that from happening again. So she formed a walking team and named it, "Walks for Dagle." 

"I think when we signed up we thought we would maybe get 10 people to show up," said Bryce. "We started off with a goal of $500."

This Saturday, however, when "Walks for Dagle" heads out from Jorgensen Auditorium to walk the 5K route around the college campus at Storrs, the team will be more than 60 people strong. Team members are made up of Dagle's family and his many friends, some of whom are coming home from college specifically to participate in the event.

The team is supported by at least 250 donations that range from $5 to $250, many of them sent with messages of hope, love, comfort, and encouragement. So far, the grand total raised adds up to almost $12,000! That money will be used to help prevent suicide, which claims the lives of 36,000 people every year. 

"[Word] spreads very quickly from people telling their family and their friends," said Bryce. "I’m just overwhelmed by the amount of support the community's given to us. I think it made our community a lot closer in general. I think everyone has become a lot closer over the past year."  

You can find out more about "Walks for Dagle" and support the cause by going to the team's page on the Out of the Darkness Community Walks web site. As of this morning, the team was just $34 shy of $12,000 in pledges and donations.