Chapters

Honoring Our Chapters’ Resilience

Each year, hundreds of our passionately engaged volunteers join together with AFSP staff for our annual Chapter Leadership Conference. Serving as a chance to share experiences and ideas, and learn what’s on the horizon for the organization, it’s also an opportunity to look back on the past year’s accomplishments, charge our batteries and renew our enthusiasm for our mission: to save lives and bring hope to those affected by suicide.

This past year, both volunteers and staff proved remarkably flexible in pivoting strategy and learning new ways to continue our work in communities everywhere, in physically safe ways. The pandemic provided surprising new opportunities, showing us just how strong and united we truly are in this important work. It also enabled us to expand this year’s conference to include a larger number of dedicated board members and volunteers.

The four-day event, held virtually and organized around the theme of #KeepGoing, culminated in an exuberant awards ceremony recognizing some of the outstanding achievements of our local chapters in the past year, including overall Chapter of the Year, Georgia, the first chapter to transition an Out of the Darkness Campus Walk to a virtual walk; start a chapter-level Individual Giving Program; host a virtual Research Connection program; and plan and execute a statewide Out of the Darkness Experience.

It is through our volunteers and chapters that we reach local communities in so many different ways. This year’s Chapter Leadership Conference enabled us to recognize and celebrate the enormous impact we all make through our passion and dedication across the country.

Read more about this year’s Chapter Leadership Awards winners at afsp.org/2021CLC