CLEVELAND — In the state of Ohio, one of the top three leading causes of death in children aged 10 to 17 is tragically suicide. That statistic is one that Cleveland Guardians pitcher Aaron Civale wants to reduce and is working to do so by raising awareness with a custom glove designed with Wilson.
Civale and his fianceé Fran Barilla have both been affected by the loss of a loved one at a young age.
“This is something that both Fran and I have experienced in our lives. Myself in high school with a friend and Fran with a close friend as well," Civale said.
Having both experienced such a strategy, when it came time for Civale to design a glove for this season at the Wilson Sporting Good’s headquarters in Chicago, he made sure to discuss the charities he was working to support, including Pearls for Perseverance—the initiative where Civale sends his warm-up baseball and videos to Cleveland Clinic pediatric patients.
Wilson was thrilled to hear about his initiatives and wanted to get involved. So they asked him what charity he'd like them to back and that a portion of his newly designed glove would be donated to it. After talking it over with Barilla, Civale landed on LifeAct.
“Our goal with this is if we can just help one person if we could reach one person by helping LifeAct get these programs out to middle schoolers and high schoolers, if we could just help one person like the people we knew and what they were going through it, would be worth it to help just one person,” Barilla said.
LifeAct helps provide suicide prevention programs for middle schools and high schools, and now with Civale's glove sales, they'll get a boost in support to help fuel their mission and hopefully reduce the number of suicides in young people across the state of Ohio.
While they do their work, Civale has a message for any person, no matter their age, who may be struggling.
“Whatever you’re going through, whatever anyone’s going through, they’re not alone," Civale said. "You’re going to give it your best shot, whatever you’re going through. Whatever you can’t field in front of you, there’s going to be people behind you to take over the burden and do whatever they can to help you out.”
To learn more about LifeAct, click here. To learn more about Civale's glove, click here.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can help. 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255) is available 24/7 across the United States.
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