Student-athletes in the Chicago area started Sunday by wiping pie and whipped cream from their faces as part of a charity pie-eating contest.
Then they tried to wipe away the stigma that teenage depression and suicide that permeates in high school circles.
The athletes gathered at the McCook Athletic and Exposition Center to shoot some public service announcements about depression and suicide and also raised some money courtesy of the Buddy’s HELPERS organization for charitable groups with a pie-eating contest.
Students and alumni from Thornton/Thornwood, Bloom, Wauconda, Plainfield Central and Romeoville took part while $1,000 was divided and donated to organizations that included Naperville’s KidsMatter and Edgewood Clinical services.
Wauconda graduate Savannah Johnson, who shared her own struggles from her sophomore year in high school, was laughing and cleaning her messy face one minute Sunday and the next minute got serious.
“I was thinking about it (Saturday) night and it gave me a little anxiety because that’s the first time that I told my story to complete strangers,” said Johnson, a freshman soccer player at Loras College. “That’s totally out there and nerve-wracking for sure, but it’s a message that needs to get across. With the pie-eating competition we wanted to make sure it wasn’t completely down.”
The theme of the day was that students should not be ashamed to seek help if they are having emotional problems. It is more common than some people think as 3,700 high school students attempted suicide each day in the United States in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC does studies every two years, and some figure that number will explode because of the COVID-19 pandemic and students learning from home.
Johnson said she wishes she talked to someone when she was struggling.
“I’m always reaching out to people – especially during rough times like these,” she said. “I want to reach out to people and tell them they are not alone. High school is incredibly hard. You are going through so many changes. Your body is changing. Your friend groups are changing. Now you are in this world where you get more freedom than you did in middle school.”
Three-sport sophomore athlete Jazmin Rodriguez of Thornton was the first pie-eater for her squad.
“It was such an amazing feeling – we had so much fun,” she said. “I’ve never been in a pie-eating contest before. It was actually hard. But the important message is that I really think that students and teens should just make the call and not be afraid to speak out because you are not alone. You matter. We are here, and we stand for that and we will help anyone in need.”
Bloom graduate Eric Suarez, who is a freshman soccer player at Prairie State, said it’s important to help those with emotional issues.
More Top Picks Best Integrated Amplifiers
“You never know what someone is going through,” he said. “You have to always be there for them.”
Bloom’s team also featured Ixchel Pelayo, Adrian Quezada and Andrea Flores. Thornton had Jonathan Rodriguez, Isreal Orozco and Thornwood alum Lizeth Plascensia. Wauconda featured Belle Johnson, Delaney Lemay and Jack Sullivan.
Before heading home, the Plainfield Central squad of Kaylie Dahms, Maddy Stamm, Diego Herrera and alum Natalie Mireles, who is a soccer player at the University of St. Francis, stopped off in Naperville and dropped a $200 check and a note in the mail slot at Edgewood Clinical Services.
Dahms, a senior, said an Edgewood therapist helped steer her on a positive path.
“I dealt a lot with my personal life and one of my biggest passions was playing soccer,” Dahms said. “I went through so much stuff that I actually quit soccer. My parents were worried about me because anyone who knows me, knows how much I love soccer.
“They got me in Edgewood and (the therapist) was amazing. I didn’t do that many sessions, but he totally turned my life around. The sessions made the biggest difference for me.”
The PSA announcements will be available on social media throughout school channels and will be made available to the Illinois High School Association, according to Buddy’s HELPERS founder Joe Trost.
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.