Dan's Bandana Project supported at UWRF

Dan’s Bandana Project was created by a recently retired UWRF staff member, Betsy Gerbec, and commemorates Gerbec’s son Daniel, who loved wearing bandanas. UW-River Falls continues to support the project with a new mental health organization.

Dan’s Bandana Project provides bandanas to students as a sign of support for those facing depression and anxiety. To receive a bandana, individuals make a two-fold pledge: to seek help if they ever struggle with mental illness, and to listen to struggling individuals and direct them to resources that can help. This initiative has been on the UW-River Falls campus since spring of 2024 and other UW universities as well, such as UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire. 

Assistant Director of Health Promotion Keven Syverson spoke on the impact of the project: “I think it shows an awareness around suicide prevention. Others are there to help if needed. If you're struggling yourself taking that pledge that, ‘Hey, I'm going to seek help. I'm going to talk to someone when I need to or if I need to.’”

According to Syverson, Dan’s Bandana Project is now led by UWRF Student Health and Counseling Services, which will be promoting the project throughout the year by tabling in the University Center and Falcon Center, and running a booth at events like Week of Welcome.

Syverson said, “I think it shows some cohesiveness among our campus, that we're here together on this issue in this area and we're showing it.”

Syverson said that the best way for students to get involved with the project is to join a new mental health organization, Active Minds. “There is a new student org group that's starting back up…” he stated. “Annemarie Schwery, one of our counselors, is leading that…. That's more of a national organization around mental health awareness, so I think that would be a great opportunity to get involved, and of course they will be supporting and promoting the Dan’s Bandana Project as they build up steam and start to get around campus more.”

In an interview, Syverson advocated for UWRF’s other mental health resources, saying, “I think the big thing is if you are struggling, come and see a counselor. It's part of your segregated fee package; you're not paying extra to see a counselor on campus. It’s recommended that the earlier you come in the better for counseling.… The earlier you come in, typically it's better to get kind of a sense of what's going on. The counselors do a great job in helping identify that, working with you on those things that you're struggling with.”