Out of the Darkness: How One Cause Runs Three Kinds of Walks

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention doesn't run one walk. It runs three: community walks in hundreds of towns, campus walks organized by students, and an overnight walk that goes from dusk to dawn. Together they show how one cause can meet people where they are.

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If you or someone you know is struggling, AFSP's own pages advise: call or text 988for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or text TALK to 741741.

Three formats in one year

AFSP's 2024 annual report counts "over 600 Walks this year" and "nearly a quarter of a million participants."1 The three formats are very different events:

Format2024 scale (AFSP)What makes it different
Community Walks412 walks; 194,000+ participants; $23M+ raisedLocal walks open to anyone; ranked No. 20 among peer-to-peer fundraising events by the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum
Campus Walks196 walks (a record); 31,000+ participants; $1.9M+ raisedOrganized on college campuses, often by student groups
The Overnight2,000 participants; about $3.4M raised, per the report's graphic16+ miles "from dusk to dawn"

By our arithmetic (AFSP doesn't publish per-person figures or event costs), The Overnight raised roughly $1,700 per participant, against roughly $120 per participant for the community walks. The demanding format attracts fewer, more committed walkers who raise far more each. The community walks do the opposite: low barrier, huge reach. AFSP runs both.

How it started: the overnight walk

"In 2002, AFSP introduced its first fundraising walk to stop suicide," the overnight walk. By 2020 it had held "25 Overnight Walks over 17 years."2 In 2024, held in Boston, The Overnight broke records, "raising the most funds since 2002."1 The community and campus walks came later, extending the cause to people who couldn't walk all night.

Honor beads: saying it without words

At Out of the Darkness walks, participants wear colored honor beads, each color showing their personal connection to the cause. Coastal Carolina University's walk published the meanings: white for the loss of a child, red for a spouse or partner, gold for a parent, orange for a sibling, purple for a relative or friend, silver for a first responder or military member, green for a personal struggle or attempt, teal for a friend or family member of someone who struggles, and blue for support of suicide prevention.3

For a cause this personal, the beads do something a name tag can't. People can recognize shared loss in the walker next to them without having to explain it. At Arizona State's campus walk, organizers announce each color during the ceremony and attendees hold up the corresponding color.4

Students running the campus walks

Campus walks are often organized by students. Arizona State's walk was led by a student organization and undergraduate student government.4 AFSP's own advice for organizers, written by a student, includes "Engage student groups."5 A student-run walk reaches peers in a way an outside organization can't, which matters for a cause where talking openly is part of the point.

Planning a walk tied to loss

AFSP's model holds lessons for any walk connected to grief or illness. Offer more than one way in: a long, demanding walk for those who want to raise a great deal, a short local one for everyone else (the charity walk-a-thon guide covers route options). Give people a quiet way to show their connection, as the beads do, so no one has to explain their loss aloud. And plan for emotion as carefully as for logistics: trained volunteers or counselors on site, a quiet space nearby, and the crisis line printed in the program. The safety checklist covers first aid and supervision. The Alzheimer's Association's Promise Garden uses flowers instead of beads for the same purpose. AFSP's walk results are compared with four other national charities on our nonprofit charity walk examples page.

Sources

  1. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 2024 Annual Report (accessed October 19, 2026).
  2. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, One Night, One Goal: Commemorating AFSP's 25th Overnight Walk (February 4, 2020; accessed October 19, 2026).
  3. Coastal Carolina University, news article on the campus Out of the Darkness walk (accessed October 19, 2026).
  4. Arizona State University Student Life, Out of the Darkness Campus Walk (accessed October 19, 2026).
  5. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Top ten tips for organizing an Out of the Darkness Campus Walk (accessed October 19, 2026).