Wrap Shop’s Suicide Prevention Fundraiser is Personal

Kevin Kempf, founder of Gretna, Louisiana-based wrap shop PG Nola, has launched the sale of limited edition suicide awareness wrap gloves, made in memory of his son, Collin Archuleta, who took his own life in 2017, just days shy of his high school graduation.

Made in conjunction with WrapGlove, the gloves are made in Collin’s favorite color, purple, and proceeds from their sale will go to The Collin Archuleta HOPE Memorial Fund Inc., at PainttheWorldPurple.org. The fund will provide charitable giving to support children diagnosed with depression, as well as those grieving the loss of a friend or sibling. The goal, Kempf wrote on his Facebook page, is to help kids get the opportunity to receive counseling so no family has to go through what his is still going through today.

“Further, distributions will be made to non-profits who offer programs to support families and children through such crisis situations,” Kempf says.

On the Paint the World Purple website, Collin’s mother, Kelly Martin Patureau, describes in detail her struggles watching her son battle depression his entire life. In a video Kevin made to promote the gloves and the foundation, Collin’s younger brother, Cody, is by his dad’s side, noting that the nonprofit foundation’s goal is “to help prevent anyone from going through what we’ve gone through.”

There have also been custom purple PG Nola hats made that will also benefit the memorial fund. The gloves and hats are available for sale on PG Nola’s Shopify page.

On his Facebook page, Kempf offered thanks to those who have helped make The Collin Archuleta HOPE Memorial Fund a reality, including Troy Downey and Tommy Downey with WrapGlove for the gloves; Dan Antonelli with KickCharge Creative, who did the foundation’s logo; Weston Caple with DGI Creative for the hats; and Andreas G. Frentzos, who produced the video.

“Most insurances don’t cover psychiatric & mental health visits, counseling & medications and none of this is cheap,” Kempf said. “We’ve done it his whole life, so we hope the sale of these gloves can go towards helping others.”