The Always Keep Fighting movement began in March 2015, when Jared Padalecki released the very first campaign with the company “Represent”; to sell t-shirts and other items with the phrase Always Keep Fighting on it and a picture of Jared in the background. There were 7 campaigns total that are apart or in relation to the Always Keep Fighting movement. The proceeds from the first campaign supported many charities including:
- To Write Love On Her Arms
- The Wounded Warrior Project
- Attitudes In Reverse – Student Suicide Prevention – Mental Health
This campaign sold 46,436 items, which helped the charities that were a part of the campaign. The campaign soled the most shirts that “Represent” had ever sold and raised $250,000.
When Jared launched the first AKF campaign – he also posted The Story Behind The Shirt and Always Keep Fighting. “On New Year’s Eve, my dear friend lost his battle with depression. This, unfortunately, wasn’t the first time I lost a personal friend to suicide, and it hurt me deeply, in a way that only a personal experience with suicide can. Though he wasn’t the first friend I’ve lost to suicide, I sure hope he’s the last. I wish I had the chance to beg them to seek help, to keep fighting. I wish they knew that they were surrounded by countless others who struggle on a daily basis. I hope that this campaign, while raising money for a wonderful charity, can also raise awareness about issues that affect more people than we know. I hope it inspires people battling depression, addiction, mental illness and suicidal thoughts to be vocal about their struggles. I hope it helps people meet and find new friends that they can relate to. I hope it helps people take pride in the fight that they have been fighting and gives them a push to never give up or give in. I hope it helps inspire people to keep fighting, no matter how hard it is. For people who deal with mental illness, depression, addiction, or suicidal thoughts, every day can bring about new struggles.
Every hour and every minute can seem to bring insurmountable odds of happiness. I hope that the simple message of “always keep fighting” can help to bolster somebody through a tough time. I also hope this campaign can help alleviate some of the stigma that the terms “mental illness” and “depression” sometimes evokes. Everybody has either dealt with these issues themselves, or had a loved one who deal with them. It’s time for us to put these issues front and center and not be ashamed of the path we are walking. If you’re out there and need help, please seek it. Be proud of your valiant day-to-day struggle. There is no shame in needing support. I hope this campaign will help you be vocal about your own struggles, or vocal in your support of those who might need a helping hand. Most of all, when life seems to want to beat you down, I hope you Always Keep Fighting.”
The second campaign was a little different because this time it wasn’t just Jared doing it. Jensen Ackles, who is Jared’s friend and co-star on “Supernatural”, joined him for launching this campaign. It went on sale in April 2015 and sold 73,157 items. The proceeds from the campaign went to a joint fund that is set up by Jared and Jensen that would distribute the money raised from the campaign to different organizations.
This is the message that they posted about the campaign:
“Our Story So Far..
howdy!
from “Moose” and “Squirrel”
so… we wanted to take a little time to let you guys know what we’ve been planning over the last couple of weeks :)
here goes… with the crazy success of the #SPNFamily, and #AlwaysKeepFighting campaigns, we’ve seen FIRST-HAND the kinds of amazing things that can be accomplished when we all work together to support causes that are important and meaningful to us all. With y’all’s help, we’ve been able to raise (literally!) hundreds of dollars to support great organizations. Organizations like To Write Love On Her Arms, Wounded Warriors, St. Jude’s, Attitudes in Reverse, The Down Syndrome Connection, and more. Beyond the financial benefits to these charities (and, in our opinions, even MORE IMPORTANTLY), we’ve also been able to start conversations about issues that have, up to now, been so heavily stigmatized by those who didn’t understand, that they were often just avoided outright or hidden. We, as a group, have been able to offer support and love to people who we have never had the pleasure of meeting face-to-face. Y’all rock.
Take it from two guys who flip through their comment sections every now and again, YOU ARE HELPING COUNTLESS OTHERS!
The causes we’ve been able to support so far are fantastic and deserving. We can’t wait to continue to work with them in the future. Wonderfully, our eyes have been opened to lots of other charities and causes that might need a helping hand to grow, or may not have even been started yet!
With that in mind, and with the understanding that there are SO MANY great organizations out there that could use a little push, we (Jensen and Jared, Dean and Sam, Squirrel and Moose, Jason and Dean [for you Smallville and Gilmore Girls fans], you get the idea) have decided to start a fund to support a variety of causes, now and in the future, that can help make the world as we know it a better place. We have a close friend (though much older than we) that “Randomly” performs certain “Acts” that change the world, and people’s lives, for the better. It’s been an inspiration, and we thought we should do that too!
We have the “bug”. We want to seek out and find MORE worthy causes (while still supporting the aforementioned charities, of course) so that there can be an overwhelming abundance of places people can go to seek help. Whether it’s for mental illness, depression, addiction, or for causes we are not even aware of yet!
In addition to the fund that we have started, we are ALSO going to work with that guy named Misha Collins (maybe you’ve heard of him) and his wonderful charity “Random Acts” to increase our reach and accomplish things that we simply could not accomplish alone. We’ve learned, after all these years, that things are better when were all working together.
So, there you have it.
Us. Y’all.
Y’all. Us.
Making the world a better place :)”
Jared also added this: “I can’t thank y’all enough for the immense love, support and enthusiasm you’ve shown for what we’re trying to do here. Even those who can’t afford a shirt have played a big role in this campaign just by sharing their inspiring stories and spreading love, care and understanding throughout this incredible community/movement/family we’ve all created. You guys never cease to amaze me”
The third campaign in the Always Keep Fighting movement went on sale in July 2015. The proceeds from the campaign will go to the fund set up by Jared and Jensen. The campaign sold 40, 152 items. The fourth campaign went on sale in November 2015. The proceeds from it went to the Pack Fund, like the previous campaign. The “Pack” part is a combination of Padalecki and Ackles. The Pack Fund is a donor advised fund, it distributes money to different charities that are important to Jared and Jensen, and the fans. The fourth Always Keep Fighting campaign also had a thanksgiving special that went on sale in the same month as the original one. It sold letterman jackets and beanies; the proceeds went to the Pack Fund as well.
In an article by “People Magazine” written in 2015, they talked with Jensen Ackles about him teaming up with Jared Padalecki to raise awareness for Mental Health. People said, “I spoked to Padalecki about Always Keep Fighting, and he revealed why the cause is so important to him. Why is it important to you?”. Jensen said, “in a lot of the ways that [mental illness has] affected Jared, it’s affected me, as well. With the kind of work that we do – with conventions, meet-and-greets – these interactions have been filled with stories not just of individuals that we’re talking to but loved ones that they know. These stories just really resonated with us over the years and it just came to a tipping point where we thought that there’s something we should be doing and we can’t ignore that anymore. If we can help in any way, then I believe it’s our duty as human beings and as people that are in a position to do so. There are people out there that are fighting that could use the help and use the encouragement and inspiration, and those are the people we’re trying to reach”.
People said, “Jared described a situation to Variety when he kind of broke down during the filming of season 3 and that you helped him through it. Can you give me your side of that?”. Jensen said, “He went down a dark road, mentally, and he was very fortunate to have people around him. It wasn’t just me. I mean I happened to be maybe a stronger voice in the whole thing but he had friends, family he was able to reach out and say that he wasn’t in a good way. He actually asked for help, and I think that’s a big thing that people are scared to do. Luckily, I was right there. It really established a good support system early on, between the two of us. There have been seasons or months where I’ve been really down. Even last year, when my daughter was about 7 months old, I was away from her and the story line that I was doing was really dark. It was taking its toll on me, I was able to have that friendship Jared and I had established for so long and that really helped. He didn’t even really need to say anything. I think a lot of people just need somebody to listen to them. We’ve established not only a good working relationship but a good friendship and also a good support system with each other.”
I really liked this article because, usually when I think of Always Keep Fighting. I think of Jared and how he opened up about his depression and anxiety; and the time before a Jus in Bello convention when it go really bad that he needed to go home and take a break. But I don’t think about the people who got through the same kind of experiences, that don’t show it or is afraid to talk to someone or ask for help. Which is why I liked the interview portion of the article. Before reading that, I had no idea that Jensen had experiences dealing with mental health and still may; because he never showed it. However, I am glad that they can both turn to each other and they felt okay and comfortable taking about it; and that because of that, it could offer support and shows people that they can do the same. To me that is one of the biggest reasons why Always Keep Fighting was made. Why the Always Keep Fighting movement is so important and meaningful to people.
The fifth campaign in the Always Keep Fighting movement was a little different, just like the second one. It went on sale in March 2016, which was the 1 year anniversary of Jared releasing the first campaign back in March 2015. The campaign sold 29,046 items. The design was also different because it didn’t have the AKF phrase as the main part of it, instead it had the phrase Love Yourself First as well as the AKF phrase. The proceeds from the campaign went to Jared and Jensen’s Pack Fund and the SPNFamily Crisis Support Network, which is project established by Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins with Random Acts, To Write Love On Her Arms, and IMAlive. The project created an online support network to help fans deal with mental issues such as depression, self-injury, and addiction. It also included training for fan volunteers who wish to be crisis responders in their spare time, immediate access to support lifelines for fans in crisis, and local community resources for those needing additional support or information. In February 2016 Jensen and Misha launched the SPNFamily Crisis Support Network along with a t-shirt campaign that had the phrase “You Are Not Alone” on it. In the first 4 days of the campaign and project being launched, 10,00 shirts were sold and 1,500 fans had volunteered. Throughout the rest of the campaign, Jensen and Misha posted a lot of funny videos on Facebook encouraging people to support the campaign and the project:
On March 4th, Misha said via twitter, that 8,500 fans had volunteered to be a part of the crisis support network so far. Credit goes to Supernatural Wiki for the page about the SPNFamily Crisis Support Network. This is the link to the SPNFamily Crisis Support Network page here.
The sixth campaign was similar to the previous campaign because it was also a little different compared to the other ones. The design on the shirt, like the las one, also didn’t have Always Keep Fighting as the main phrase. Instead the phrase on the shirt was I am Enough. The campaign went on sale in June 2016 and sold 33,465 items. The proceeds from the campaign went to the charities OneOrlando and the Equality Florida Institute. The campaign had two types of the designs, one with just red and white as the colours and another one that has rainbow colours.
The seventh and most recent campaign was launched by both Jared and Jensen for the show being on for 12 years. The campaign went on sale in September 2016 and sold 32,249 items. The proceeds from the campaign went to charities that fight against depression, self-harm, and suicide. This is the information about the campaign from the site: “ ‘It’s been 12 years together which makes us all family’ Join the AKF cause and help fund charities that fight against depression, self-harm, and suicide. **Commemorative “12” button pin exclusively accompanies every pullover hoodie purchase** 12 years together but forever family. It’s been 12 years of nonstop excitement and thrilling adventure with Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. Whether you’ve rooted for them on screen or off, the two friends have been keen supporters of each other’s work with the Always Keep Fighting, Love Yourself First, and I Am Enough campaigns. Help these two celebrate 12 years of family with this limited edition Jared and Jensen, “Family Always Has Your Back” campaign. COMMEMORATIVE BUTTON PIN EXCLUSIVELY ACCOMPANIES EVERY PULLOVER HOODIE PURCHASE TO HONOR 12 YEARS OF FAMILY! IF YOU MISSED THE FACEBOOK LIVE EVENT WITH JARED AND JENSEN WATCH IT BELOW!” https://www.facebook.com/JensenAckles/videos/10153684971621755. There was also a relaunch of all of the campaign designs in 2017, that went on for 2 full days, and all the shirts had a symbol on the arm with a 12 and #AKF.
The Always Keep Fighting movement has inspired, and changed, and helped so many people, including Jared. When the campaign was going on some people couldn’t afford a shirt. But people on twitter started to buy shirts for others who didn’t have enough money to get one, especially people with mental health issues; which then spread all over social media. The Always Keep Fighting movement has made such a big impact in my life, as well as others. At the San Diego Comic-Con in 2015, about 5 months after Jared launched the first Always Keep Fighting campaign, a very kind gesture was done during the supernatural panel in Hall H. Towards the end of the panel as Jared was looking out into the audience there was a sea of lights. Jared said this in an E News article about the sea of lights, “At first I didn’t know what it is. I thought people were holding up their iPhones or something. And then someone handed me the note explaining it and I found out what was really going on. It took everything in my power not to cry”. And this is what Jensen said about the comic-con sea of lights, “ I thought there was like a rock band about to come out that didn’t now about. I was like, “what is going on? What is happening right now?” But it’s just this continuing thing. I’m astonished at the support that these fans give Jared and give us on the show, day in and day out. And it just seems to keep growing, on both sides. Jared and I talk about it, we all talk about it, Misha [Collins] and I talk about it, we all talk about this relationship that has formed between the fans and us. It’s taken over the past several years and it truly shows… Something that we have that other shows don’t have is a tangible relationship with our fans. We see them on a regular basis, we do these Supernatural conventions, we hug them, we smile with them, we cry with them. And it’s genuine! We got there with true intent to listen to them and be there with and for them. It’s truly a special thing”.
Anne Kirn, @house_of_darkly on twitter, is a fan of supernatural and also the one who organized the comic-con sea of lights gesture. Random Acts helped Anne with the gesture and she produced 1,200 tea light candles. Each candle has an anti-possession symbol on it and “Always Keep Fighting”. Underneath it says SPNFAMILY; 10 YEARS STRONG & COUNTING. Everyone was given a tea light candle, a card with instructions for when to turn them on, as well as a card with the message, “Everyone is given a candle that burns just for them. When your flame flickers and you fear it will go out. Know not even the strongest wind lasts for ever, and there are other lights to guide you even in the darkness…And when your candle burns bright, you can ignite the hearts of others and hope will spread like wildfire…Always Keep Fighting, & You’ll never fight alone. #AKFHALLH #AlwaysKeepFighting”. Anne distributed 1185 tea light candles to people in the audience with the cards, and the rest went to everybody on stage, and others as well.
After comic-con, Jared posted this Thank You message on Facebook for the sea of lights, “To anybody and everybody that had ANY part whatsoever in the Always Keep Fighting Hall H tea light event. As I travel back to Vancouver from San Diego Comic-con, with my partners in crime Jensen Ackles and Mark Sheppard, the enormity of what happened is finally starting to sink… I am beyond moved. I feel so blessed, and grateful, and honoured to be a part of the magical Supernatural family. Sitting on that stage in Hall H, I initially mistook all of the lights for cell phones cameras. It’s difficult to discern specific shapes and faces with all those stage lights shinning on you (and, it’s quite intimidating up there, sitting in front of 6,500 people!!). Then, when I had a light given to me with an explanation of what it was and what it stood for, I was (and still am) gob-smacked. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart and my soul, thank you so much. I will never forgot this day. I will never forgot the love that I felt, and still feel. And, to everybody who held a light for me, please know that I hold my light for you. Though happened to be the one sitting on stage, I am but one small light in a sea of thousands. TOGETHER, we can and will make a difference! Keep letting your light shine. I will do the same. And, keep fighting. Always Keep Fighting.”
Not only did fans start buying shirts for other fans, they also have done some fan campaigns. Some of them have made and sold t-shirts and bracelets with the proceeds from the campaigns going to organizations like To Write Love On Her Arms. At a Supernatural Convention in New Jersey in 2015, @TONIAN_ROSE on twitter, and @AttitudesInReverse organised something similar to the comic-con sea of lights. This time the audience all had glow sticks to wave at the beginning of the J2 panel. On the glow sticks it said “Always Keep Fighting” and everybody who got a glowstick to wave also got a card that said “it’s okay to be a glowstick; sometimes we need to break before we shine”. Along with organizing a wave of glowsticks, she also raised $1,500 for Attitudes in Reverse. Here is the vide of the donation for Attitudes in Reverse being show to Jared and Jensen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=97&v=oecrChDIWKE. Credit does go to the SuperWiki page for Always Keep Fighting for the information give, which you can go to here.
In a “E!News” article about the Always Keep Fighting and Jared opening up about his struggles with anxiety and depression, they asked Jared a few questions. E!News asked, “Did you face any challenges or backlash by revealing your own experience with depression and anxiety?”. One of the things Jared said in response was “People think, “Well, if you’re rich, then you won’t ever have anxiety or depression. If you have our own TV show, then everything goes away.” But it’s simply not the case. And that’s where I go back to trying to remain empathetic to those who might not be currently empathetic.”
In a “Variety” article about the Always Keep Fighting campaign Jared talks about how Stephen Amell inspired him to start the Always Keep Fighting campaigns because of Stephen’s F Cancer campaign. Jared also talked about how he was very surprised to the response from people about the campaigns. The initial goal for the first Always Keep Fighting campaign was 1,00 but it sold a lot more. The total was 46,436. When Jared released the first AKF t-shirt campaign, he was filming episode 19 for season 10 of Supernatural. Coincidentally, that episode was about a magical box that made people become suicidal if they tried to open it. in the interview portion of the article. Variety asked, “How did the campaign come about?”. One of the things Jared responded with regarding the phrase for the shirt was, “I didn’t want to say “never give up”, it makes it sound like you’re being beaten down. It puts you on the defense, as if your only option is either to give up or to get beaten up. I don’t want somebody to wake up and say, “Don’t give up today – I hope this isn’t the day I get beaten down.” I want somebody to wake up and brush their teeth and think to themselves like, “Todays not going to be easy. Today’s going to be a fight, but I’m going to fight”. They toyed with different slogans to use for the campaign, like “Never Give Up” – but in the end they chose Always Keep Fighting; because Jared felt it was a proactive approach to these issues.
One of the things that inspires Jared to Always Keep Fighting is the fans of Supernatural and Sam Winchester, who he plays on the show. He also hopes that the Always Keep Fighting movement will go on long after his time. In Family Don’t End With Blood by Lynn Zubernis, Jared wrote a beautiful chapter titled “What Does The Fandom Mean To Me?”. In it he talks about his experiences in being a fan, when he was a kid he was a big fan of Star Wars and James Bond. The Always Keep Fighting movement and how it has helped him especially with his anxiety and depression, as well as other things. There is a part in Jared’s beautifully written chapter that I want to quote, it’s a bit long but everything in it is related to Always Keep Fighting and the movement behind it.
“Something as simple as landing in Geneva on a national holiday had become an insurmountable obstacle. A sign. An omen. An albatross. A portent of what was to come. On top of the weeks, and months, and years of feeling the need to break down, but not feeling that I had permission to.
I broke.
Plain and simple.
I. Broke.
I sat in a park in Geneva, surrounded by thousands of people, young and old, celebrating their beautiful day off, and I felt more alone than I ever had in my life. All my pain, all my self-doubt, all my insecurities, came to head. I hated myself. I hated that I hadn’t taken the time to look on a calendar or call ahead, or at least make a plan in some way that could have solved this issue. I hated myself for assuming that of course the museums would be open when I was there! I hated that my friends were eastbound to Rome and my wife was westbound to home and I was in a foreign place with no one to be there for, and no one to be there for me. Though my rational brain was telling me everything was find and everything would be find, I couldn’t get past the feeling that I wanted to be anywhere but where I was, that I wanted to be anybody but me.
It took hours. And tears. The kind of tears that don’t stop until your stomach hurts from convulsing. Until your face no longer moves because every ounce of water in your body has freed itself from the burden of being a part of you. The kind of tears that don’t care if the passerby stare (or maybe the tears realize they couldn’t stay hidden anyway). My lips chapped, but I couldn’t force myself to drink water. I felt like anything that went down would swiftly work its way back up. I literally had to hold my eyes open with two fingers so I could see the outside world.
I knew I wouldn’t get out of Switzerland alive.
Then, I was hit by another “sign” (if you want to call it that). I got a call from a friend. A friend who had been through some severely emotional and difficult time with me. A friend who had lost somebody special by their own hand…
The friend I needed.
“Hey, Brian, what’s up?”
“J-Pad…how you doin’, brother?”
“…”
Phone calls…more tears…more phone calls…Steps back toward my hotel…more tears…sideways glances from folks who didn’t speak my language, but understood the universal language of human anguish. Help up off the grass…phone calls.
“I have to get on the plane to Rome tomorrow, people are counting on me!
Falling down on the grass yet again.
Arguments. “They’d be better off without me…”
Silence.
I had been away from a charger for a while, and apparently iPhones lose battery very quickly when they’re roaming in foreign lands…my phone had died.
I had a decision to make.
In a moment of clarity (and with help from people I love), I realized that I didn’t want to burden my friend, or my wife, with having been the last person to talk to me. I didn’t want somebody else to think that whatever was wrong with me was somehow their fault. So I gathered all the courage I had left and I headed back to my hotel. I went upstairs, charged my phone, and booked a Geneva-to-Austin flight for nine hours later.
I was gonna go home. I was going to go and finally, after fifteen years in the real, adult working world, make the necessary time to take a long and hard look at myself in the mirror.
There would be hell to pay: I was about to cancel (for the second time!) a convention in Rome and one in Australia… I was going to let (literally) thousands of people down: people who had spent their hard-earned money and valuable time off to get that chance to meet and talk about Supernatural. I hated myself for leaving.
But I knew I only had two options: go to Austin, or go away forever.
Not a lot of sleep was had between Geneva and London, London and Chicago, and Chicago and Austin (my last-minute ticket required some interesting routing). It seemed that, now that I had decided to live, I had become uncomfortably aware of my morality. I laughed to myself at how ironic it would be if, now that I had made the commitment to live something out of my control happened to make that not possible.
I had always been a good flier. For me, sitting in an airplane seat was one of the few times where I felt able to turn off, where I didn’t feel like I had obligations that I had to take care of or phone calls or emails that I had to make (until they introduced in-flight Wi-fi – damn you, technology!). Also, it was (and still is) one of the few situations where I truly feel a connection to the people around me: No matter where they’re from, or the language they speak, or the religion they follow, it seems like we are all “in it together” (whatever “it” may be) until we land safely at our destinations.
But these flights were different. I had god-awful anxiety the entire time, and no one to turn to for help. I found myself LITERALLY mumbling “Always Keep Fighting” to myself even grabbed a pen from my bag and did something I hadn’t done since high school: I wrote on my arm “AKF” up and down my left arm, over and over and over again. It seemed to calm me down better than listening to music or reading, so I did it, and I didn’t stop until I ran out of space.
When I landed in Chicago for the last layover of my journey, I got a phone call from a friend Paul. I had met Paul when he worked a s a stuntman and actor on Supernatural many years before, and I found him to be a great guy. He’s big and strong and has fought MMA professionally. He looks like the kind of guy you wouldn’t want to piss off in a back alley, but he has a heart of gold. He talked to me for an hour, and he helped me feel better about myself. He helped me understand that it’s not weakness to need help sometimes. I will be forever grateful to him for that. (Side note: It was great to have him back in season 11 as Hellrazor in the episode “Beyond the Mat”…even though his character made fun of my hair. Ha.)
So, Paul got me through my final layover and I boarded my flight to Austin: the final leg of my journey home.
When I finally arrived, I could see in Gen’s eyes how worried she was. We had, obviously, been in contact, and she knew I wasn’t in a good place. It probably didn’t help that I hadn’t been sleeping well for days and looked like I had gotten a full sleeve tattoo on my left arm. She was waiting for me at the airport with my friend and manger, Dan, who had flown out from LA to spend some time with me, and my friend Danneel, who wanted to be there to offer me support and love. I will never be able to tell the three of them exactly how much that meant to me.
Finally, I was home. I wasn’t healed yet; there was a lot of work to be done. But I was at least in a place where the only thing people expected of me was to figure out who I am, and take care of that person.”
I wanted to quote that part from Jared’s chapter in Family Don’t End With Blood because he talked about a time when his anxiety and depression was really bad and how “Always Keep Fighting” helped him through it as well as family, friends, and the fans of the show; who all gave Jared love and support.
Fan Stories:
I reached out on Twitter and asked fans to send me there stories about the Always Keep Fighting movement and how it has helped them or changed them, as well as any photo ops, tattoos, etc. that they have. This is what they to say:
Mikayla, @modernlymik on twitter, says, “I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression at 13. One of the most pivotal moments in a young girls life I believe. Thinking back on the years after being told that, I am ashamed of how I hid it. I pretended to be okay on days that were rough and used the excuse “oh, I’m just tired,” way too often. I can remember when my best friend made me a bet to watch Supernatural and how I don’t know if I would be the same person I am today without. I was introduced to the Always Keep Fighting movement very very early on when I first started the show and all of the sudden, I didn’t feel so alone anymore. There are always celebrities and influencers talking the talk essentially, but here was this movement being headed by a celebrity who wasn’t just all talk. He was real and he cared, which is a big thing in our world. I thankfully caught the end of the second AKF fundraiser and immediately ordered my shirt. When it came in, I almost cried because this movement, it was real, it was here and it was inspirational. It wasn’t just all talk and no action. There were members of the SPNFamily all over saying “I’m here, I need help” and “Hold my hand, I got your back.” Even now just simply thinking about it makes me unbelievably ecstatic. The Always Keep Fighting movement has shown me how to be brave, how to stand up for not only my own illnesses but others as well. It has taught me to never stay quiet even when people think you should. Recently, I’ve had a lot of bad days. Days that struggle immensely and I couldn’t help but fall to my knees. I started being open about my struggles two years ago and when I posted a video about how I wasn’t okay, the outpouring support and love I got from my SPNFamily blew me away. There will always be days when life gets a little harder but because of the Always Keep Fighting movement, I know I am not alone.”
This is Mikayla’s Always Keep Fighting photo op/autograph story, “First of: when my best friend and I decided to go to SPNDEN, we both knew I was going to get a Jared op. I missed out on one in SPNNOLA so this was a given. What I hadn’t counted on was uncontrollable bad luck during the process of buying it while also planning my late graduation trip. So because my best friend knew how much Jared meant to me and to show how proud she was of me, she bought me my Jared op. Right off the bat, I knew I wanted to do a pinky promise. Jared had done so much for me without even realizing it and will most definitely continue doing so much for me and everyone else that I wanted to make a promise. The day came for the op and walking up to him was insane. Here was this 6’4-6’5 man who literally bent down to my level so he could hear me. He asked what we were doing and I asked for a pinky promise, not thinking he would want to know why. But he did. He asked me “What are we promising?” So I showed him my semi-colon tattoo and told him “To always keep fighting.” The smile he gave me will forever be engrained in my head as he rubbed my wrist. It was that proud smile, the smile that you see on friends’ faces, or your family’s after graduations or celebrations. We latched pinkies and he brought his other hand to cradle my head and Chris took the photo. Afterwards he gave me a tight hug and told me ‘You better keep that promise’”. Also go check out Mikayla’s YouTube and blog.
Sammi, @sammiwayward on twitter, talks about how the Always Keep Fighting movement helped her a lot a couple of years ago, “When I first discovered the show and the guys I was going through my lowest point in my mental health and I was recovering from an attempted suicide and AKF REALLY helped me get through a dark time”.
#WaywardCrossroad’s, @SPNcrossroad on twitter, AKF tattoo with their SPN bracelets
Kelly’s, @AllenGrammy on twitter, AKF necklace that she made herself, which reminds to Always Keep Fighting
Lauren’s, @ghosthunter718 on twitter, AKF tattoo with cool spooky bats
Finally I just want to say, no matter how hard or bad it gets. Even if it feels like no one cares and you are all alone in this world. I want you to know and remember that you are not alone and never will be. Somebody will always be there, whether it’s in person, on the phone, online, whatever. You are not alone. And it if you need to say it out loud or write it on a piece of paper or on your arm, or wherever, I want you to Always Keep Fighting.
Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqK3QAZeXFI (Alana Kings video about Always Keep Fighting)
http://www.nerdsandbeyond.com/2018/03/04/always-keep-fighting-campaign-celebrates-third-anniversary/
https://www.facebook.com/JaredPadalecki/videos/vb.277897975749138/368326713372930/?type=2&theater (Jared and Jensen)
https://www.facebook.com/stephenamell/videos/820445611374041/ (Jared and Stephen)
https://www.imalive.org/chat.php/ (Chat with a Crisis Support Network Volunteer)
https://twitter.com/_IMAlive (IMAlive Crisis Chat twitter)
https://www.randomacts.org/crisis-support-network/mailing-list-sign-up-form/ (Sign up form for volunteers and newsletters)
https://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/16/supernatural-misha-collins-spnfamily-crisis-support-network/ (EW article about the spnfamily crisis support network with Misha Collins)
https://www.facebook.com/JensenAckles/videos/10153227277011755/ (You Are Not Alone Thank you)
https://www.facebook.com/officialmisha/videos/1067542483267758/ (Jensen is not alone)
https://www.facebook.com/officialmisha/videos/1068126799875993/ (Jensen’s Daily Reminder)
https://www.facebook.com/officialmisha/videos/1068630623158944/ (Hawaii Trip livestream)
https://www.facebook.com/officialmisha/videos/1070866012935405/ (you are not alone)
https://www.facebook.com/officialmisha/videos/1073891592632847/ (you are not alone 2)
https://www.facebook.com/JensenAckles/videos/10153684971621755 (Jared and Jensen livestream about the 7th campaign)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=97&v=oecrChDIWKE (Video for the money raised by fans for AIR)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1x0ZnWL1Ix8 (Fans telling Jared to Always Keep Fighting)
I love your texts. They're always so well written and researching. Good job! <3