Grantee success stories from GCI’s 2024 Suicide Prevention Fund highlight community impact

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – From culture camps along the Bering Strait to bilingual radio messages broadcast across the Yukon River, the 2024 recipients of the GCI Suicide Prevention Fund made significant strides toward preventing suicide in their communities. These grants underwrote hands-on workshops, peer‑leader trainings, and culturally grounded activities that strengthened local support networks. Across the board for the nonprofits funded, the programs promoted the importance of seeking help and connections, illustrating the power of locally led solutions backed by GCI’s funding.

“Our grantees are the experts in their own communities,” said Jenifer Nelson, GCI’s Rural Affairs Senior Director. “We simply provide funding and stay out of their way. Seeing people discover pride in their culture, veterans find healing through connection, and volunteers step up to help a neighbor reminds us why this fund exists.”

A few highlights from 2024 grantees are:

Training community “Watchmen” in Metlakatla

On Annette Island, the Watchmen of Metlakatla are volunteers trained and equipped to recognize warning signs of suicide and connect neighbors to help. With GCI’s support, the Annette Island School District offered Youth Mental Health First Aid training to expand the number of trained community members in the Watchman program, and host two family engagement nights. Participants quickly filled all available slots, underscoring how hungry the community is for family‑oriented activities that promote wellbeing.

Peer‑led wellness campaigns in Fairbanks schools

The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District introduced the Sources of Strength program to train student leaders to normalize conversations about mental health and intervene early. The 2024 grant helped the district teach evidence‑based intervention practices and post‑vention strategies. Program coordinators report that empowering students to support their peers is creating a ripple effect of openness and resilience throughout the district, which at 14,000 students is the second largest in Alaska.

Youth reclaim tradition through reindeer workshops

At the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Northwest Campus and Norton Sound Health Corporation’s Native Connections program in Nome, grant funding paid for supplies and reindeer so high school students could learn every step of meat processing while strengthening cultural identity. Instructor Jackie Hrabok emphasized that the workshop’s active approach differed from typical classroom learning. “The style of teaching is really interactive, hands-on, and learning by doing.” Native Connections project director Tonia Osborne explained that working with traditional foods builds self‑worth. “Teaching them how to work with their traditional foods or through their cultural practices shows them, ‘You do matter. You do belong.’ Every one of us had a role in our community, and we still do.” Instructors report that students left the workshop with new skills and a deeper sense of belonging.

Radio messages and community events on the Yukon River

Big River Public Broadcasting in Galena launched the “Life Is Your Big River – Let’s Go!” campaign to broadcast three public service announcements daily in English and Athabascan, spreading awareness about the 988 suicide‑prevention hotline. Station manager David Patty reflected on the challenge of finding the right tone. “We’ve learned a bit about ourselves and about striving for empathy toward others … I hope the messages reach the intended ears.” The station also hosted community events to combat loneliness and promote wellness.

STAR and the American Legion Jack Henry Post 1 broaden outreach

Standing Together Against Rape (STAR) used its grant to train staff and crisis line volunteers in QPR suicide‑intervention and Mental Health First Aid. This training ensures that survivors who call STAR’s helpline receive compassionate support and immediate safety planning.

At American Legion Jack Henry Post 1 in Anchorage, esports took center stage. With Suicide Prevention Fund dollars, the post is collaborating with gaming communities, veteran organizations, and mental health professionals to create an innovative program that combines gaming events, peer support, and mental‑health resources. The effort aims to reach veterans who might not attend traditional support groups by meeting them where they are — online and at the gaming table.

Other 2024 grant recipients and project updates include:

• Aleut Community of St. Paul Island – Txin Kaangux Team Wellness and Resilience: Developed a comprehensive wellness program for employees working with suicide, substance abuse, child abuse, and domestic violence cases that enhanced resilience, mitigated burnout, and fostered a supportive workplace environment.
• Gold Star Peak – Connected with more than 3,500 people through bi-monthly ski and snowboard events providing continued connection and empowerment that comes from adventure-based activities, particularly in the challenging and isolated environment of Alaska’s winter.
• Kawerak, Inc. – Bering Strait Suicide Prevention Project: Worked with rural communities to prevent substance abuse and suicide by providing year‑round healthy activities and hosting an annual youth camp.
• Kenai Peninsula Borough School District – Building Student Strengths: Increased peer leaders’ skills and resources, enabling them to leverage their influence and social networks to promote positive cultural change, reduce stigma, and ensure classmates had access to mental‑health support.
• Kuspuk School District – Kuspuk Empowers: Enhanced student support, trauma‑informed practices, and community connections by incorporating telehealth services, a district‑wide check‑in/check‑out program, and wellness professional‑development days.
• Maniilaq Association – Hollywood Streetball Tour: Reinvigorated village‑based Wellness Teams and increased protective factors and positive childhood experiences through a traveling streetball program.
• National Alliance on Mental Illness Juneau: Conducted a three‑day suicide‑prevention training for community members and hosted group conversations on how to support one another with local resources.
• Native Village of Napaimute – Jacob Wise Memorial Spirit Camp: Hosted an annual culture camp where youth participated in traditional activities and health‑ and wellness‑focused programming

These projects represent 12 of the 109 initiatives GCI has funded since the Suicide Prevention Fund’s launch in 2016. The fund has now contributed more than $1 million to prevention programs in communities across the state. Together they highlight an essential truth: effective suicide‑prevention work happens when community members lead the way, weaving cultural strengths, and evidence‑based training into programs that resonate.

For more information about the GCI Gives, visit www.gci.com/why-gci/gcigives. To learn about free evidence‑based trainings and suicide awareness resources, or to apply for future GCI Suicide Prevention Fund grants, go to https://alaskacf.org/funds/gci-suicide-prevention-fund/.

About GCI

Headquartered in Alaska, GCI provides data, mobile, voice and managed services to consumer, business, government, and carrier customers throughout Alaska, serving more than 200 communities. The company has invested $4.7 billion in its Alaska network and facilities over the past 45 years. Through a combination of ambitious network initiatives, GCI continues to expand and strengthen its statewide network infrastructure to deliver the best possible connectivity to its customers and close the digital divide in Alaska. Learn more about GCI at www.gci.com. GCI is an independent publicly traded company (Nasdaq: GLIBA, GLIBK, GLIBB) Learn more at https://www.gciliberty.com/.