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.
On the day Cole died, our daughter, Molly, told us that she was going to school the next day. We looked at her with disbelief and asked her why. She said, “I have to tell the story of what really 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 Molly’s shoulders in the school setting.
Since that moment, our family has taken advantage of every opportunity presented to us to spread awareness and talk about suicide.
Part of being open about what happened meant being transparent at his service. Cole's service was conducted by Galen Huck, who knew Cole and had roped with him. Galen conveyed that, “This world is a better place with you in it.” Several of our close friends helped with the service. They wanted to advocate and educate about suicide. When we were researching suicide advocacy, the colors were teal & purple for prevention and yellow for suicide awareness. In that moment, I could not imagine how I could have prevented this. It’s also easier to get cowboy hat feathers in one color instead of two. We offered hat feathers and encouraged all the cowboys to wear yellow feathers in their hats because yellow is the color for suicide awareness.
Following Cole’s service, friends from Blue Cross Blue Shield, the UW Foundation, and Cheyenne Frontier Days met during November of 2021 to brainstorm ideas on how to do more in our community to end our high suicide rate in Wyoming. This was where Tom Hirsig and Rick Schum came up with the Pickup Man idea. CFD has incorporated and shared the yellow feather Pickup Man Initiative at our rodeo for the last few years and shared the idea with many other rodeos. They even printed up stickers with the Wyoming General Contractors Association that include the yellow feather and the slogan “Everyone needs a pickup man.” At the Museum Store, you can purchase various merchandise, such as Montana Silversmith hat feathers and necklaces engraved with Pickup Man, where all proceeds are donated to local suicide prevention efforts.
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.” During the 2022 and 2023 shows, the video was played each day just before the Saddle Broncs. You can find that video on the Cheyenne Frontier Days Foundation website.
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. The CFD Foundation board and General Committee presented each High School Senior who was graduating at Frontier Park with a yellow feather and the associated message that they were loved, valued, and meant to be here.
Before we made the decision to start the foundation, our family participated in two projects. The first was when a friend of Molly’s asked her to be part of filming a public service announcement. Molly worked with Willie Fowler and the Safe2Tell group to help create three different 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. The second project we worked on was through our relationship with Blue Cross Blue Shield Wyoming and Shane’s work. Joanna Kail from PBS Wyoming reached out and invited us to be part of the series "A Cowboy State of Mind: Confronting our Mental Health Crisis." Cole’s story is featured in episode two of the series. Mat Hames and his crew spent the day at our home in May 2022 to see where Cole grew up and to meet his family and friends. It’s a day that will be with me for the rest of my life.
A big part of our decision to start a foundation was to formalize the work we had started doing with other non-profits in the community and to use the funds that had been donated to Cole’s memory to establish a scholarship for students who write about topics related to mental health. Our mission 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.
We do this by networking and partnering with mental health programs and advocating 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 encourage them that it’s okay to talk about their struggles.
One of the people we met early on in our journey was Emma Benoit, whose story is told in the documentary “My Ascension.” 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.
We have been awarded $13,000 in scholarships to 15 students from 2022-2025. Our purpose in establishing the scholarship was to engage students in talking about mental health and suicide prevention. Several annual team roping jackpots have been held in both Wyoming and Arizona to raise funds for these scholarships. These events are my favorite because Cole enjoyed going to Yuma to rope in the benefit team roping events for other causes. Last year, Tate Bishop, one of Cole’s friends since kindergarten, put on a roping out at the Riata to raise money for the scholarship fund.
Cowboy Cole Memorial Foundation has worked closely with the team from Laramie County Grief Support. Not only did they help us through our own grief, but they have also become lifelong friends and partners in suicide prevention and grief support. For several years, we sponsored a Dodge Ball team in their Tournament, and this year, we had an information table at their team roping event this spring out at the Riata. Surviving grief is a very difficult process that isn’t fully understood until you go through it. Acknowledging our grief and working through it is essential, especially when coping with any part of suicide.
The foundation has received amazing support from all the organizations we have been involved with over the years. Our local businesses that support the FFA and 4-H Livestock sale have been very generous. Molly's friend Colby Avery donated all the proceeds from his swine in 2022 to Cole's Memorial 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 schools, where they were able to go through the Jae Foundation program and have a meaningful conversation about mental health and suicide prevention.
Another suicide prevention organization that we have formed ties with is the Jae Foundation. We met Julie Mackey in the Spring of 2023 down at the Wrangler. This is when our family got their Jae Boots. Later that summer, we were invited to a retreat in Daniel, Wyoming, where we met the founders of the Jae Foundation, Jason & Paige Vickery. Jason Vickery was one of Jae Bing's friends and started the foundation to continue Jae’s Legacy after he took his life in 2016. In September of 2024, I traveled to Twin Falls, Idaho, to visit their headquarters and learn how to present Jae’s Story. Since that time, I have done the Jae Boot Presentation for several hundred people in our community. As long as I can raise funds to buy boots, I will continue to create boot check moments and encourage them to have bold conversations. I am proud to be an Ambassador for the Jae Foundation and partner with them on projects like the High School Senior Boot Initiative.
As long as our community needs us, we will take advantage of opportunities to share Cole’s story to help others learn to cope with and understand their mental health. The more funds we raise, the more work we can do to help reduce the suicide rate in Wyoming.
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On July 16th, we will participate in Wyoming Gives for the second year. This provides Wyomingites with a unique opportunity to safely donate funds to organizations that have been rigorously vetted through the Wyoming Non-profit network.
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For the past two years, we have been part of the city’s project to feature a different non-profit at each of the Friday Nights on the Plaza. We were honored to be chosen to highlight our nonprofit organization.
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On August 23, our local Hell on Wheels Rodeo will host a Yellow Feather night. Please come out and see us, we will have a booth set up with some of our new It’s Boot Check Time t-shirts.
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Our round-up partnership with Taco John’s has given every person in our community a chance to be part of the fundraising efforts for the High School Senior Boot Initiative. Thank you so much for every time you rounded up!
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 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 us, we don’t try to fix their pain or troubles for them. They need us to stay with them and listen with empathy. 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. Jason Vickory from the Jae Foundation posts a newsletter monthly that you can subscribe to. In this month’s newsletter, Jason shared words from his life coach. He said, “You are doing work that walks the edge of hope and devastation. And the deeper in you go, the more you realize that suicide prevention isn’t just about the intervention - it’s about growing a kind of awareness that calls us all to see differently, listen better, and respond with compassion.”
Here are links to the content mentioned above.
Safe 2 Tell public service announcements
Cheyenne Frontier Days Foundation spread the Pickup Man Movement
