By Jeff Bugher
7/30/2024
* If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, please call 911. If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, which is free, confidential, and available 24/7. Or text “WYO” to 741-741 for the Crisis Text Line.
This is part two of our two-part series on the impact the 1WYO NIL collective is making throughout Wyoming. Click here to read part one.
CASPER, WY –According to the CDC, Wyoming had the highest suicide rate per capita in the United States, a title she unfortunately held from 2017 through 2021. Mental health isn’t easy to talk about in Wyoming, but it’s necessary to bring it up to prevent tragedy. The 1WYO NIL (name image and likeness) collective has partnered with the non-profit Jae Foundation out of Pinedale, Wyoming, which Jason Vickery founded in memory of his best friend Jae, who tragically was lost to suicide. The Jae Foundation works to support mental health and prevent suicide for both males and females, with a focus on the higher rates of suicide among men via "boot-checks.” Over the summer, several University of Wyoming athletes, including graduate defensive tackle Jordan Bertagnole, a native of Casper, took part in a retreat in Pinedale to promote mental health awareness and suicide prevention through the Jae Foundation.
Bertagnole described the foundation's mission, saying, “It raises awareness for mental health males and females, but the rate for a male to commit suicide is much higher than for a female in Wyoming. So, it's just a super cool foundation that raises awareness, but then they also coach you through that...they do boot-checks, which is when you just reach out to a friend and just check in on them, see how they're doing mentally and emotionally.”
The retreat gathered a diverse group of University of Wyoming athletes, including football players, basketball players, and members of the women's basketball and volleyball teams. Bertagnole shared, "We had sessions on suicide prevention, but we also learned self-leadership and just leadership in general.”
The athletes worked on various activities, from horseback riding to leadership sessions, helping build camaraderie among athletes across different sports programs. Bertagnole smiled when speaking about the experience, noting, “We don't do a lot with getting multiple athletes from different programs together, so I was able to build relationships with guys on the basketball team...and then also with women's basketball and women's volleyball.”
Since returning, Bertagnole has been implementing what he learned, conducting "boot-checks" with friends and family, and maintaining connections with fellow athletes. He also spoke on the importance of the 1WYO collective and community engagement."
“I think Wyoming is doing right with the 1WYO collective because they're not just giving guys money; they're getting them out in the community, helping with volunteer work and some charitable work. It's giving us opportunities to reach our communities in Wyoming.”
Bertagnole told us he plans to continue to spread the message in the future.
Mitch Edwards, President of the 1WYO NIL collective, highly praised the retreat, stating with a sense of pride, “Fourteen athletes went up to that retreat to become ambassadors for the Jae Foundation.” The foundation's unique approach includes the symbolic gesture of giving participants cowboy boots, which serve as a reminder to check in on friends and family through regular "boot-checks." “When you wear those boots...you think about 'who do I need to call to do a boot-check,' just to call and check in on somebody," Edwards said.
The retreat equipped the athletes with various tools to communicate effectively about mental health, aiming to empower them to use their influence to reach young adults and teenagers. Edwards elaborated, “The idea is that now, as part of the engagement, they will go out into high schools and possibly junior highs and be ambassadors for the Jae Foundation and talk with young adults and teenagers about suicide awareness.”
Edwards continued:
“If you or I showed up to a classroom to talk about that, those kids would listen to us. But they're definitely going to listen and take a lot more to heart if they're hearing from Jordan Bertagnole, Evan Svoboda, or one of the basketball players. There's that attachment to them, they have a power with their name, image, and likeness. It's really about engaging them to use their influence to open up doors with those young adults and students.”
The 1WYO collective is the official NIL (name, image, and likeness) of the University of Wyoming. Its goal is to provide NIL financial opportunities for UW athletes to use their NIL to help charities and make a difference throughout Wyoming.
1WYO 307 Campaign
The 307 Campaign is a fundraising initiative to get 1,000 Wyoming fans to contribute $307 each to the 1WYO NIL collective. The total goal is to raise $307,000, which will be utilized to support and engage student-athletes in various charities
Mitch Edwards emphasized the 307 Campaign's collective style: "If we're collective together, we can go farther than being alone." While $307 is the target individual contribution amount, fans can certainly donate more. "Our goal is to get 1,000 people to donate $307, but obviously, there are people out there who can do more, like $500 or something like that," Mitch noted. "Anything people can do, we still count towards the 307 campaign."
Breaking down the math, the $307 goal translates to about $25 a month for those interested in making a monthly contribution. Monthly payments are offered to appeal to a broad base of Wyoming fans, making it very feasible for individuals to participate. Edwards explained, "We're not asking everybody to donate $10,000. The idea is to get more people involved and help them realize that together, we can make a significant impact."
Edwards concluded: "At the end of the day, my $307 may not do much by itself, but if we get 1,000 other people to do it, that can help go a long way.
You can learn more about the 307 Campaign here: https://1wyo.org/307-campaign/
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