Cowboy Cole Memorial Foundation
Our Story
The Cowboy Cole Memorial Foundation was formed after our son, Cole Allen, died by suicide on October 5, 2021. He was 18 years old and had only been away from home for five weeks.
The mission of the foundation is to raise awareness of suicide and promote mental health for young adults and youth, especially in the rodeo community. Our goal is to eliminate the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health.
How we do this by networking and partnering with mental health programs and advocates to ensure that young people in our community are learning the facts about their mental health, about suicide, and about the importance of connecting with other people. Our purpose is to teach coping techniques and the dangers of bottling up their feelings and emotions and to learn how to talk about their struggles.
On the day Cole died, our daughter told us that she was going to school the next day. "Why?" we said. She said, “I have to tell the story of what happened to Cole and stop all the gossiping and rumors.” This was when our family decided that we had to be open about telling Cole’s story, we could not leave it on our daughter's shoulders in the school setting.
From the beginning of this journey, we have been open about what happened. The minister at Cole’s funeral service, told everyone, “This world is a better place with you in it.” At Cole’s service, we encouraged all the cowboys to wear a yellow feather in their hat because yellow is the color for suicide awareness. Teal & purple are the colors for suicide prevention.
Following Cole’s service, friends from Blue Cross Blue Shield, the UW Foundation, and Cheyenne Frontier Days met to brainstorm ideas on how to do more in our community to end our high suicide rate in Wyoming. This was where the idea came for the Pickup Man campaign. CFD has incorporated and shared the yellow feather initiative at their rodeo for the last two years and shared the idea with many other rodeos. They even printed up stickers the Wyoming General Contractors Association with the yellow feather and the slogan “Everyone needs a pickup man.”
Cheyenne Frontier Days also collaborated with Garth Brooks to record a message for their rodeo, emphasizing the impact of “Being a Pickup Man to those that need a hand and to reaching out if you need the hand.” Various products, such as Montana Silversmith hat feathers and necklaces engraved with Pickup Man, were also created with proceeds benefiting organizations that support suicide prevention.
I believe that this year, all the seniors graduating at Frontier Park will receive a yellow feather with their diplomas.
The Yellow Feather rodeo Pickup Man initiative has been featured in several newspapers and social media posts from notable organizations such as the American Hat Company and Bronc Riding Nation. Collaborations with other rodeos and their sponsors are propelling the message.
Our family has taken advantage of every opportunity presented to us to spread awareness and talk about suicide.
Molly has worked with Willie Fowler and the Safe2Tell group to help create three public service videos about suicide awareness and substance abuse. She did the narrative for the second video. All the videos can be seen on YouTube or our website as well as on the Safe2Tell page.
Part of the success of the foundation has been partnering with other organizations and efforts to spread awareness and prevention efforts. One of the people we worked with on the Safe2Tell videos invited us to attend a virtual screening of “My Ascension.” Cowboy Cole Memorial Foundation connected with Emma Benoit, the creator of the documentary. This connection led to organizing and arranging multiple community viewings of the documentary in various schools in eastern Laramie County, in the Cheyenne Community, and at F.E. Warren Air Force Base. The foundation purchased a community license to screen "My Ascension," ensuring that the message reaches a broader audience. We can set up viewings of the film followed by a community discussion. The discussion is the critical part of these community events that makes the most impact.
To engage youth, we also established a scholarship with an application process designed to explore ideas to prevent suicide. Cole’s roping buddies from Arizona hold an annual team roping jackpot in Yuma, Arizona to raise funds for these scholarships. To date, we have awarded 12 scholarships over the last three years.
Through our relationship with Blue Cross Blue Shield Wyoming, a connection was made between the Cowboy Cole Foundation and Joanna Kail from PBS Wyoming. "A Cowboy State of Mind: Confronting our Mental Health Crisis" features Cole’s story in episode two of the series. There is a link to our website.
Cowboy Cole Memorial Foundation has sponsored a team for Laramie County Grief Support Dodge Ball Tournament for the past three years. Surviving grief is a very difficult process that isn’t fully understood until you go through it. Our family is happy to help anyone who has been touched by suicide or is struggling with suicidal thoughts. We offer a non-judgemental listening ear.
The foundation has received amazing support from all the organizations we have been involved with for years. Our local businesses that support the FFA and 4H Livestock sales have been very generous. Molly's friend donated all the proceeds from his swine in 2022 to Cole's Memorial Scholarship Foundation. He raised $22,000 that was used to fund the My Ascension assemblies featuring Emma Benoit and the recent Boots for Seniors project for the 2024 graduates from Burns and Pine Bluffs high schools, where they were able to go through the Jae Foundation program and have a meaningful conversation about mental health and suicide prevention.
The more funds we raise, the more work we can do to help reduce the suicide rate in Wyoming.
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Our next project is to help Jae Foundation with their goal of getting Jae Boots for every Senior, in every county in Wyoming, every year. We will have several opportunities during July to help raise money for the Boots for Seniors project effort in Laramie County.
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On July 10th we participated in Wyoming Gives, providing us an opportunity to share our mission with those looking for organizations to donate funds to. We are so thankful for the support we received from the community and can't wait to get to work helping with suicide prevention efforts.
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On July 12th Hell on Wheels Rodeo will have a yellow feather night to spread the message to be a pickupman. We will be there with a booth with lots of suicide prevention swag. Come and see us!
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On July 19th we will be part of the City of Cheyenne’s project to feature a different non-profit at each of the Friday Nights on the Plaza at the Depot. We were honored to be chosen to highlight our nonprofit organization.
Open conversations about suicide, encouraging people not to be afraid or ashamed to discuss suicide along with validating others' feelings during difficult times are several things that we can do now to help break the stigma of suicide. It’s really important that when a friend or family member is struggling and they reach out to you, don’t try to fix their pain, stay with them and listen, be empathetic.
We hope to help create a community that supports one another and works tirelessly to prevent future tragedies. Unity and compassion can make a difference in the lives of individuals struggling with mental health challenges.
Here are links to the content mentioned above.
Safe 2 Tell public service announcements
Cheyenne Frontier Days Foundation spread the Pickup Man Movement
