YORK, Pa. — It was a crowded basement on a random Tuesday night at the headquarters of Building Bridges for Brianna in Dallastown.
More than 20 volunteers showed up, not just to wrap Christmas gifts for kids, but also to support one man and his message: "Keep fighting, I believe in you, you are a star."
It's the message Matt Dorgan got from a T-shirt his daughter Brianna made in the 8th grade.
"The one thing about Brianna, she always wanted to help people. She would always put her emotions to the side to help that one person," Matt said.
Brianna was just 15 years old when she took her own life in December 2020.
Instead of letting his grief take over, Matt came up with a plan. "There isn't somebody in the community who is not affected by suicide or mental health," he told FOX43. "We wanted to build the bridge between the people that need help and the people that can give help."
So, on top of a full-time job, the former law enforcement officer started the non-profit Building Bridges for Brianna. It promotes suicide awareness and prevention in an effort to keep other parents from suffering the same pain.
"It's incredible what he's doing after everything he's been through and he's still going strong! Yeah it's incredible," said Dani Graham. She's one of a handful of people who nominated Matt for a Jefferson award, saying he also raises funds to help cover mental health co-pays for people who need treatment and can't afford it.
"Brianna actually said a few months before she passed that she wanted to become a therapist. She wanted to help people that were dealing with the same things that she was dealing with, well now we're doing it in her honor," Matt said.