The purpose of the "Memory Quilts" is to raise awareness and prevent suicide by placing a "Face on Suicide," - a visual image of the approximately 32,000 suicides that occur in America every year. The goal is for all 50 states and any specialty group interested to be represented by displaying their quilt(s) as a joint effort at the annual National Suicide Awareness Event sponsored by SPAN USA and to use them throughout the year on local levels.

The coordinator for the memory quilts is Sandy Martin, of The Lifekeeper Foundation. The Lifekeeper Foundation was formed in 1995 by Sandy in memory of her son Tony who died by suicide at age 17, on December 16, 1988. He was her only child. In December 1997, Sandy started the national Lifekeeper Memory Quilts. This vision came as a direct result of Sandy working with SPAN USA at the first National Suicide Awareness Event in Washington, DC in 1996. SPAN USA delivered advocacy letters petitioning our government to declare suicide a national problem. The letters included alarming statistics and were received by all with great empathy. And then a thought got a hold on Sandy - she believed that if our leaders could relate a face to a number, that number would become exactly what it was--a tragic loss of human life. As a result of that thought, and her follow-up actions, The Lifekeeper Memory Quilts are now displayed every year at SPAN USA's Annual National Suicide Awareness Event, as well as at other events around the country.

We encourage you to become a part of this simple message - that suicide happens in good families and that it can happen to any of us - by participating in the Memory Quilt. This is an ongoing project, as we are determined to keep making the quilts as long as they are needed. We will work together to educate our nation to reduce the incidence of suicide.