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This article mentions suicide. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for free, confidential support at 1-800-273-8255, or text HOPELINE to 741741.

SAUK CITY, Wis. — As National Suicide Prevention Week continues, a special effort in Sauk County is helping a community touched by tragedy.

Missy Kubly was like a second mother to Sawyer Martin. She watched him grow from a little boy into a good friend and a remarkable young man.

“So he would always be the leader, he would make sure the little ones weren’t left behind,” Kubly said.  

This July, the unthinkable happened, and Martin took his own life.

“I don’t want people to forget Sawyer and I also don’t want any other mom to have to write an obituary,” she said. “So we have had more than one student in the Sauk Prairie School District that lost their life in the last school year, and we don’t want to see any more.”

Kubly said this sparked the beginning of the “Be Kind” movement. What started with 50 yard signs, with the words emboldened on the school’s colors, quickly grew into thousands.

Acclaimed portrait photographer Pam Zeigler pitched in her talent to design the signage.  

“It just spread kindness all over town. And now it’s even spreading farther,” Zeigler said. “So it’s really great to see all the response from everyone.”

But the yard signs were only one sign of Sauk Prairie support.

“The community just exploded,” Kubly said about what happened next as area businesses started turning on their lights with a ‘Be Kind’ message.

The Sauk County-headquartered Culver’s shared the message with its owner-operators; today, many of their marquees across the country carry the special phrase.

“And you’ll find the kind of message on […] signs, like from here to Florida to California, everywhere,” Kubly said.

Culver’s spokesperson Erik Skrum said the company made a contribution to the effort that is supporting suicide prevention and anti-bullying awareness.

His statement read in part, “It’s a message we’ve been happy to share with our local restaurants and guests.”

Meanwhile, Zeigler said the entire project has helped her be a better person.

“Every day, I see these signs all over town and every day, I’m thinking, ‘What can I do to be kind today?’”

As for Kubly, she said as she grieves, the signs do something profound: offer hope.

“It feels like each sign, it feels like it’s a message from Sawyer,” Kubly said.

Learn more about the "Be Kind" effort here.

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