This Saturday, April 14, the N.C . State chapter of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity will be holding a charity soccer tournament to raise awareness about suicide prevention.
The third-ever tournament event, to be held on the Greek court fields at 1 p.m ., is in honor of Spencer Meyer, an ATO member who committed suicide in January 2010.
Each year since Meyer’s death, ATO has organized the event to show its commitment to the suicide awareness and prevention cause and to remember Meyer.
This year, ATO is partnering with the Hope for the Hopeless Foundation, a non-profit organization established by Meyer’s mother, Lisa Meyer. Together, they are supporting the event to raise awareness about suicide prevention for teenagers and young adults.
Steve Gilene , sophomore in human biology and ATO Philanthropy Chair, is heading up the event and said the teams are made up of nine different participating sororities.
“The tournament is modeled after the World Cup and each sorority team will represent a different country,” Gilene said. “Each team also has an ATO member as a designated coach.”
According to Gilene , the teams were responsible for picking their countries and then creating or buying their uniforms.
To raise money for the tournament, Gilene said each team was charged a $200 entry and participation fee. He said ATO will also be selling T-shirts, including a special “Hope for the Hopeless” shirt in Meyer’s honor.
All of the proceeds from the event and T-shirt sales, Gilene said, will be donated to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the Hope for the Hopeless Spencer Meyer Fund.
While members of ATO have organized the event, Gilene said they’ve received help from their sponsors Coke, Valentine Commons, and Coastal Clothiers. He said the sponsors will be donating things like snacks and refreshments for the tournament day.
Gilene said the sorority team that wins the tournament gets to have the traditional trophy in its house for a year. Other teams will be able to receive smaller trophies too, for awards like “best dressed team,” “best skills” and “most independence.”
To further its support for suicide prevention, ATO is in the process of building and developing its philanthropic spirit to extend beyond just Greek life.
“We’re hoping to expand the tournament next year to include non-Greek organizations,” Gilene said.
While the charity tournament is all about fun and games, ATO members said it’s also about calling attention to a very serious matter.
Jason Baker, senior in chemical engineering and ATO member said, “We don’t want other people to go through what we went through when we lost Spencer.”
Though he’s gone, Meyer’s friends remember him as a caring and talented guy who had a lasting effect on all of their lives. Ben Blaiss , senior in biological sciences, ATO member and Meyer’s best friend, said Meyer would talk to anyone and always made people feel welcomed.
“Spencer could put a smile on anyone’s face,” Blaiss said. “I think about him all the time.”
Blaiss and other ATO members said they hope the tournament this weekend will be a positive force in the suicide prevention community.
“I never knew how much one person could affect everyone around them. When you lose someone like that, you’re left with so many questions,” Blaiss said. “It’s important to raise awareness for this cause because we don’t know the paths that people have walked, we don’t know what people have been through, and they need to see there can be hope.”
According to the Hope for the Hopeless Facebook page, suicide is the second leading cause of death for college-age youth and the third leading cause of death for ages 10 to 24.
The foundation, run by Meyer’s family, strives to “support efforts that offer hope and help for high school and college age youth struggling with depression, addiction and hopelessness.”