A scholarship fund honoring late Antrim resident David Day is gathering steam, and organizer Sharon Voorhees said she hopes that sharing his story can additionally help others at risk of suicide. Day died in April 2019 at the age of 50.
Day was a lifelong friend, Voorhees said, who celebrated each life milestone in lockstep with her husband, Toby. They were born five days apart and grew up on the same street, joined the military together, married women from the same graduating class, and had daughters born eight days apart, Voorhees said. “They did everything together,” she said.
“We just grieved,” Voorhees said, when she and her husband learned Day had died by suicide. “Not only did we lose a family member, a friend, just a part of us was gone.”
Day was “meticulously thoughtful,” Voorhees said. “He wanted to learn. More than that, he wanted to teach you. … You thought you were taking a pop quiz when he was talking to you,” she said. Day was an avid cyclist, she said, forever in search of a bike that was “lighter than air.” He biked everywhere, Voorhees said, once even riding a Tour de France route that his heroes raced.
Last year, Voorhees and her husband funded a scholarship in Day’s name, awarding it to a ConVal senior intending to pursue math or science, as Day himself was an engineer. Establishing a foundation for a recurring scholarship is the next step, she said, but she doesn’t see the efforts stopping there. “I want to do so much more,” Voorhees said. Eventually, she’d like to be able to tell Day’s story to aid suicide prevention efforts.
In the meantime, Voorhees is fundraising for future scholarships via the David Day Memorial Fund Facebook page and Venmo, and selling T-shirts sporting a bicycle, in honor of Day’s passion. Post-COVID, Voorhees anticipates tabling at the Home and Harvest Fair and working with other local suicide prevention initiatives. One donor approached Voorhees at work and shared her own story about being a suicide survivor.
“It meant so much more than the donation,” she said, and the experience gave her hope that further efforts to memorialize Day can pave the way to providing at-risk people with appropriate support.
The Grapevine – https://grapevinenh.org/suicide-response-and-prevention/
The Samaritans hotline – (603) 357-5505
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – call 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Parenting Stress Hotline – 1-800-632-8188
Crisis Text Line – Text 741741 from anywhere in the US
NAMI New Hampshire – www.naminh.org
The River Center – https://rivercenter.us/help-in-a-hurry/