FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
Kate Brock
Executive Director, Community Education Center
Phone: 814-781-3437
Email: kate@communityedcenter.com

St. Marys Area High School’s Dutch Manufacturing Students,
Community Education Center of Elk & Cameron Counties, and
Artist John Schlimm are Partnering with Cameron/Elk Suicide Prevention Task Force
to Create 30,000 “988” Powdered Metal Coins

(Elk & Cameron Counties, PA – April 1, 2025) – The creative collective of St. Marys Area High
School’s Dutch Manufacturing (DM) students, Community Education Center of Elk and Cameron
Counties (CEC), and international award-winning author, artist, advocate, and educator John Schlimm
(JS) has partnered with the Cameron/Elk Suicide Prevention Task Force to design and produce “The 988
Coin.” Manufactured in an edition of 30,000 powdered metal coins by Metco Industries, “The 988 Coin”
is being launched and distributed across Elk and Cameron Counties during April and May to raise
awareness of the national suicide and crisis lifeline number and in recognition of Mental Health
Awareness Month 2025.
“Working on ‘The 988 Coin’ and other projects with the Dutch Manufacturing students, who are part of
Gen-Z whom I admire so much and who originally pulled me into my mental health advocacy work years
ago because of their openness and courage in sharing their journeys, is a career dream-come-true for me,”
said Schlimm. His own family has been impacted by five suicides across three generations during the past
century, in addition to the loss of friends, students, colleagues, and one of his greatest mentors—Country
Music Superstar Naomi Judd for whom Schlimm was a publicist in Nashville during the 1990s.
Schlimm continued, “While conceptualizing and designing every single detail of ‘The 988 Coin’ with the
students and the CEC, and sharing why the mission behind this project is important to us personally and
to our local communities, I was continually reminded that with these young people in the world the future
is so very, very bright!”
The DM x JS x CEC collective has been working with the Task Force since September 2024,
collaboratively discussing, conceptualizing, and finalizing the design, materials, and roll-out for “The 988
Coin.”
“Our partnership has grown into something truly significant and rewarding for all of us,” said SMAHS
Senior and DM President Tralynn Ginther. “It has been an incredible experience and opportunity for
different generations to unite creatively, highlighting each person’s unique talents and abilities. I’m eager
to see what the future holds, not just for ‘The 988 Coin,’ but for everyone involved and impacted by it.”
Every design detail for “The 988 Coin” was meticulously brainstormed, discussed, edited, tweaked, and
finalized by the DM x JS x CEC collective over the course of four months last Fall. In addition to two
outstretched, caring hands supporting a brain that bears the message to call or text 988, the outline of the
brain contains a semicolon. In mental health, a semicolon represents a pause in a life, not an end, and can
be seen in many places such as the semicolon tattoos that Gen-Z has especially embraced as a show of
survival and support. Furthermore, the dot of the semicolon in “The 988 Coin” is the eleventh mark in the
outline of the brain, representing the current statistic that there is one suicide every eleven minutes in the
United States.
“It is always a true pleasure to collaborate with the Dutch Manufacturing program,” said CEC Executive
Director Kate Brock. “I am constantly impressed by the students’ creativity, productivity, and their
approach to critical thinking.”
Skills-based and student-led, Dutch Manufacturing is a high school program that is focused on developing
students for the ever-growing world of Advanced Manufacturing. The skills that are developed throughout
this program translate into qualified individuals who will be successful in the manufacturing sector, postsecondary
education, and/or an apprenticeship/internship type of program. The DM students have already
designed and manufactured several items for local businesses since the program started in 2022.
Conceptualizing and creating at the intersections of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and
math), mental health awareness, and community service, in addition to “The 988 Coin,” the students’ first
project as part of the DM x JS x CEC collective was “THE SMILE COIN,” which was released in 2023.
An edition of 4,000 powdered metal “SMILE COINS” were given to K-12 students in the St. Marys Area
School District—two coins per student: a SMILE to keep and a SMILE to give away.
“‘The 988 Coin’ Project has been another great partnership between Dutch Manufacturing, John
Schlimm, the CEC, and this year’s addition of the Cameron/Elk Suicide Prevention Task Force,” said
Dutch Manufacturing Coordinator Jesse Schreiber. “This project has allowed the students to really be
involved in a service that is going to be beneficial for the people of Cameron and Elk Counties. A huge
thank you to Gerg Tool and Die, Inc., Metco Industries, Inc., and Ion Technologies for working with the
students to make this 988 project a success.”
The Elk County Commissioners via an Act 13 grant and Dickinson Center, Inc.’s Signs of Suicide®
(SOS) Prevention Program generously sponsored the production of “The 988 Coins.” The 30,000 coins
were manufactured at Metco Industries, along with Gerg Tool & Die that made the tools for the project
and Ion Technologies that did the coating.
Distribution of “The 988 Coins” throughout Elk and Cameron Counties is a joint effort between the
Cameron/Elk Suicide Prevention Task Force, CEC’s Leadership Elk & Cameron (LEC), and The 988
Coin Tour featuring the DM x JS x CEC collective, Task Force, and Dickinson Center (DCI) with
multiple stops at middle and high schools and other locations in both counties, as well as the Healthcare &
Social Services Staff Appreciation Party organized by LEC at Straub Brewery Tap Room on May 21.
“Thanks to our generous and supportive funder, The A.J. and Sigismunda Palumbo Foundation, the 24-25
academic year marks 18 years of DCI facilitating the Signs of Suicide Programs in the Elk and Cameron
County School Districts,” said DCI Children’s Prevention Services Program Director Sierra Himes. “Each
year, the evidence-based suicide prevention program reaches over 1,000 students in our districts,
spreading the word of SOS – ACT or A.cknowledge C.are T.ell. This amazing ‘988 Coin’ collaboration
will let us spread that message again and reach over 2,000 students. We are so grateful for the opportunity
to be a part of this project. The sheer number of individuals who contributed to this project is incredible—
the number of individuals ‘The 988 Coin’ will impact is immeasurable.”
“The 988 Coin” is the grand finale of a three-part 988 awareness initiative across Elk and Cameron
Counties launched by the Task Force in 2024. Part One was the Fall release of the “988/END THE
STIGMAS” artist’s book by Schlimm. Hundreds of free copies were made available by generous grants
and other funding from such sources as The Doris E. Stackpole Foundation, the American Legion Riders
Post 103, the Emporium Foundation, and others. Part Two was the “988/END THE STIGMAS” digital
billboard—a 30-second public art work created by Schlimm, the Task Force, and City of St. Marys that
was installed on St. Marys’ digital community calendar located on The Diamond from February 3 to
March 3, 2025.
Schlimm, who is a member of Dickinson Center’s Board of Directors, has donated his work and time to
create “The 988 Coin” and both the “988/END THE STIGMAS” digital billboard and artist’s book, which
is also offered to the public on Amazon at-cost to make it as accessible and available as possible to
everyone.
In addition to “The 988 Coin,” “988/END THE STIGMAS” digital billboard, and “988/END THE
STIGMAS” artist’s book, the Cameron/Elk Suicide Prevention Task Force’s other ongoing 988 awareness
campaign projects include portable community banners.
“The mission of the Cameron/Elk County Suicide Prevention Task Force is to reduce stigma and instill
hope, start meaningful conversations while offering prevention, intervention, and postvention support,”
said Board President for the Task Force Jim Baumgratz. “We provide links and support to Cameron and
Elk Counties with resources and training opportunities for all community members.”
The DM x JS x CEC collective is also currently working on three other major projects. “The Pillars: A
Monument Honoring Our Local Carbon & Powdered Metal Industries” is being generously sponsored by
local businesses and organizations, and has a target installation/dedication date of August 2025 on the St.
Marys Area High School campus grounds. “The U.S. Flag Coin” and “The World’s Largest Powdered
Metal U.S. Flag” are being created in partnership with the Elk County Commissioners and
America250PA-Elk County to celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States in 2026.
“Metco Industries was proud to be a part of ‘The 988 Coin’ Project,” said Metco Industries Plant Manager
Matt Liptak. “It was a great experience partnering with Dutch Manufacturing, John Schlimm, the CEC,
and the Cameron/Elk Suicide Prevention Task Force to support the 988 Lifeline.”
For more information about the Cameron/Elk Suicide Prevention Task Force, please visit the group’s
Facebook page—the one that currently has the Cameron/Elk Suicide Prevention Task Force logo profile
pic—at: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558535093194—and Instagram page—at:
@cameron_elk_suicide_prevention.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, immediate and nonjudgmental help is available.
Please call or text 988.
For more information about Dutch Manufacturing, please visit http://www.dutchmfg.com.

#