SANDPOINT — Some students may spend the last weekend before school starts hanging out with friends. A trio of Sandpoint High School seniors spent at least part of that time helping out at Sunday's annual Walk for HOPE.

Among them is senior Marlon Rohm, who said the walk's message is an important one.

"I think it's important not to misjudge people," said Rohm, a member of the school's National Honor Society and Student Council.

He enjoys seeing people turn out for the walk, both to show support for mental health and to connect with others in the community.

"I like seeing all the people that come here every year," he said of the walk.

Due to the recent structural concerns and limitations involving the Long Bridge, the walk was fully virtual with a community celebration at Dog Beach.

It was an easy yes when he found out the Walk for HOPE needed volunteers, Harrison Giles said. He enjoys community service, and the annual walk is a great cause because it showcases the area's beauty, both scenic and in its community spirit.

"I think it's just really cool because Sandpoint is kind of known for like its beauty and nature," Giles said. "It's cool that a community can kind of like get together and just appreciate Sandpoint like this."

The SHS senior said the community comes together through events like the walk, which highlights suicide awareness, hope and healing.

"It shows what a small community can do if we come together and just collaborate a little bit," he added. "We don't have to be a big community like Spokane or a place like that. There's beauty in being a small town."

Like Giles, SHS senior Wyatt Lang said he heard about the walk's need for volunteers through the school's National Honor Society, which counts volunteer service as an important part of the club's activities.

From helping put up posters — his favorite this year was "Proud to be an American" — to helping out at the community get-together, Lang said the walk is fun to be a part of.

He likes helping out through community events like the Walk for HOPE, in part because he can see the impact of helping others.

"It's about connecting with people and seeing that in a small town, you can have kind people, and even though we're in a rural area, there's tons of people that are there for you that you can meet and be kind of an inspiration for you," Lang said.

Rooted in a message of kindness and support, the annual Walk for HOPE is held the Sunday of Labor Day weekend just before area youth head back to school. Held in memory of Madi Wyman, the walk aims to break the shroud of secrecy around suicide and mental health and advance the mission the nonprofit Hold On Pain Ends has pursued since 2015.

Knowing you aren't alone can make a tremendous difference, as do the programs the walk supports, event organizers and past walkers have said. Knowing that others care, that there is support and that they aren't alone can make a tremendous difference and help someone having a bad day or in need of help hold on or reach out.

That message of support lies at the foundation of Walk for HOPE, founder Jennifer Wyman said previously.

Walk for HOPE — which stands for “hold on, pain ends” — has been held annually for 11 years. The event honors Madi Wyman, who died by suicide at age 14, while it raises awareness for those who may be silently struggling. Through messages of kindness and encouragement, the walk offers a quiet reminder of hope. Details throughout the event, from its colors to the font used on T-shirts, serve as small mementos of Madi and help connect her memory to the event’s broader mission of supporting youth in the community.

For more information, go to walkforhopesandpoint.org.

    A Walk for HOPE participant keeps dry under an umbrella at the annual community event Sunday.
  

    A Walk for HOPE volunteer works to cook hamburgers and hot dogs for a community celebration held after the annual event. This year, the walk was made all virtual due to structural concerns and limitations involving the pedestrian Long Bridge.
  

    A few of the signs lining the fencing leading to Dog Beach, where the Walk for HOPE held its annual community get-together on Sunday.