You may have seen your social media pages filled with videos of the '22 Push Up Challenge' this summer. It's the latest online activism trend, and local students are jumping on board to raise awareness. Raise awareness for what, you might ask? Camille DeLongis shares that answer.
OWEGO, N.Y. -- The 22 push up challenge is a lot like the ALS ice bucket challenge from a few years ago, but this time around the goal is to raise awareness for veteran suicide prevention.
Now that school is back in session, districts have been challenging each other to complete the task. Johnson City started the trend.
More than 150 students from Owego Free Academy were the latest to complete it, after being challenged by Chenango Forks.
Why exactly are they doing 22 pushups? That number represents the claim that, on average, 22 military veterans take their lives each day in the United States. That's an estimate taken from Department of Veteran Affairs' 2012 Suicide Data Report.
"[About] 22 veterans commit suicide a day, and that's a really high number for somebody who's doing a big part for our country and keeping us all safe,” said Christian Midolo-Ray, an Owego Free Academy student.
"It's sad to see, and I think it's important for us to take a few minutes to get together as a group and honor the heroes and the veterans that keep us safe every day in our country,” said Owego Free Academy Athletic Director Andy Buchsbaum.
Owego has now challenged Susquehanna Valley to complete the task, and they're expected to do so sometime this week.