Walmart Manager Arranges $25K Donation For Suicide Prevention

PLEASANT GROVE, Utah – Kristen Rohlin has experienced a lot of loss over the years, but she was able to give back in a very big way to a cause close to her heart — the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

On Monday, Kristen Rohling handed over a check for $25,000 to AFSP at the Walmart Neighborhood Market she manages in Pleasant Grove.

“We’ve never received this large of a donation,” said Taryn Hiatt, the regional director for AFSP.

The next day, Rohling was recognized for Giving Tuesday and received a High 5 from KSL TV.

Rohling submitted a grant application on behalf of AFSP after learning Walmart had a program to help local charities.

“I’ve lost my father and my brother (as a result of suicide), and it was really hard,” she said. “AFSP has helped me through that healing process.”

Rohlin was able to turn her pain into empowerment. This past year she got 10 Utah Walmart  Neighborhood Markets to approve grants totaling $12,000. Each location also provided volunteers and more than 5,000 waters for AFSP’s annual Out of the Darkness community walk.

“This is one of the most underfunded leading causes of death,” Hiatt said. “For us to better understand this cause and better understand what we could do is going to be key. I just think of the grants this is going to be able to fund and the support we are going to be able to do and the programming we’ll be able to do in our state. I just can’t even put words to it right now.”

Rohling isn’t stopping there. She said she plans to continue to give back any way she can.

“The way I’ve dealt with the deaths of my brother and my dad is I’ve thought: ‘I can shoulder this for you. I can take this on, and I’m going to make a difference,'” she said.