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48,344……. That’s the number of people in the United States that died by suicide in 2018. That’s approximately 132 people per day, 1 person every 12 minutes. Like most people, we don’t realize the severity of this problem until it hits home; June 10, 2018 it hit home for me. One of those 48,344 people was my brother, Jeff. A 45-year-old loving husband, father of two, brother and friend of many.
Four years ago, a very good friend and I, decided we wanted to do something to raise money and bring awareness to the crisis of suicide and depression, but didn’t know what to do or how to go about it. Some people we talked with suggested having a walk or participating in one in honor of Jeff, but that wasn’t who he was. We didn’t want to do conventional or the status quo; we wanted to do something that reminded us of him; something he enjoyed doing. We knew walking wasn’t it, but golf was. Jeff loved to golf. So, with that, we decided we would try to organize a golf outing. We called it JAPO, a nickname of his. With no experience, on August 3, 2019 we hosted the inaugural JAPO (Jeffrey Alan Percifield Outing). With the help of some friends, their personal contacts and money of our own, we were able to provide a logoed golf towel to each golfer who participated, silent auction items and hole/raffle prizes to raise money. We were also able to connect with two local golf courses, who donated a round of golf for the first and second place foursomes. Overall, we have been able to raise $8,200.00 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), Wisconsin chapter. The 3nd Annual JAPO we were able to raise over $3,600.00.
