Parker Abbott Memorial Ride to raise suicide awareness, money for local family

Sep. 6—According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, suicide is the second leading cause of death for children, adolescents, and young adults between the ages of 15 to 24.

Cass County children have not been spared from the devastating results of that statistic, and some Lewis Cass community members are fighting to raise awareness about suicide and break the stigma around seeking help for mental health.

Community members are planning a memorial ride this Saturday that spans from Logansport to Kokomo and includes a silent auction, door prizes, music, and pulled pork.

Nikki Malott, the project coordinator at the Youth Services Alliance and one of the main organizers of the event, said she wanted to find some way to help the family of Parker Abbott, a 14-year-old Lewis Cass student who passed away on July 13 after committing suicide.

"We wanted it to not only be a ride to help bring some funds to the family to help pay for expenses, but also to raise awareness and stop the stigma against asking for help," Malott said. "That's what we're really trying to get through to the kids especially."

Malott noted that a recent Pioneer graduate also took his own life just a week before Abbott and said suicide is a huge problem that affects the entire community.

"It's just heartbreaking. It's horrible that these young kids are in that dark of a place," she said. "It's heart wrenching. I have a 12-year-old, and I can't even imagine."

She was inspired to organize the benefit ride after purchasing a jeep and taking notice of numerous benefit rides around the area.

"I posted something about wanting to do something for the family, maybe a jeep ride because I noticed that they do a lot of those around here, and I had a bunch of people tell me that if I planned one, they'd be there. These are people from all over Indiana, so it was kind of inspiring," she said. "I decided to try to put something together."

Malott began posting about her idea on jeep Facebook pages to get the word out and gauge interest. In the midst of her planning, Malott found another Lewis Cass community member eager to help.

"Jonathan Parker, who is a Lewis Cass parent also and knew Parker through his kids, was on one of those jeep pages," Malott said. "He reached out to me and he wanted to be a big help. He has been awesome."

Parker knows the importance of mental health and seeking help when it's needed. Because of his own experiences, he felt called to help Malott organize the benefit.

"My family and extended family, we've dealt with some mental health issues and things like that that just hit close to home for me," he said. "I kind of jumped in with both feet and just tried to do what I could to help."

One of Parkers biggest contributions to the event is the t-shirt design. He enjoys doing design work in his free time, so that was an area where he could use his skills. Abbott's sister Faith gave input on the design and ultimately approved the final version.

Parker added music notes and the phrase "keep the music playing" to the shirts because Abbott was a member of the Lewis Cass Marching Band and he liked to write and compose music.

The event will start behind Lewis Cass Jr./Sr. High School at noon on Saturday with a check in for jeeps, motorcycles, and any other vehicles that would like to join in the ride. Around 1:00 p.m., riders will travel from Walton to Mike Anderson in Logansport where there will be a giveaway. Riders will then travel to Peru and tour the Grissom Air Museum before riding to Kokomo and returning to Walton.

Malott encouraged anyone interested in attending the ride to pre-register through the benefit's Eventbrite page. The ride costs $25 per vehicle and driver, and each additional passenger is an additional $10. A t-shirt, pulled pork dinner, and free entrance to the Grissom Air Museum are included with the registration cost.

Any extra t-shirts can be purchased for $15 and extra pulled pork meals will be available for $5 apiece for anyone who does not register. The Cass County Zero Suicide Taskforce will also be speaking at the event and selling lanterns after the ride. All proceeds will be donated to Abbott's family.

Community members who would like to attend the ride can register online on the Cass County Riding Group's Facebook page.

Malott is hopeful that the ride will be well-attended and will raise awareness so other families do not have to experience a child taking their own life.

"We've got to do something," she said. "These kids are struggling and we're losing our children."