The students at Palmerton and Lehighton area high schools have got your back.

On Wednesday night, Palmerton and Lehighton community members showed up at Lehighton’s girls and boys basketball doubleheader in support of a special cause.

The night was dubbed “Aevidum Awareness Night.”

Aevidum is a national nonprofit organization that aims to spread awareness of mental health resources, reduce the stigma of mental health issues, and encourage inclusivity and positivity among high school students. Both Palmerton and Lehighton have Aevidum chapters.

Aevidum was founded in 2003 after a student from Cocalico High School in Lancaster County died by suicide. The tragedy was a catalyst for change, so the Cocalico High School community created a group to spread awareness of mental health and suicide prevention.

The club was initially named “A Helping Hand,” but as its membership grew exponentially, its members renamed it “Aevidum.”

The name is derived from Latin roots, and means “I’ve got your back.” The club has since become a nonprofit organization and has spread to other schools throughout Pennsylvania and beyond.

The Palmerton and Lehighton Aevidum chapters alike make efforts throughout the school year to reach the goal of spreading mental health awareness and lifting morale among the student body.

The Palmerton club members created videos for their school announcements for Aevidum Awareness Week, distributed suicide prevention ribbons during Suicide Prevention Week, and even wrote kind messages on sticky notes to put on the school bathroom mirrors.

Lehighton’s Aevidum chapter hosted a “talk workshop” event in November at which nearly 150 students from 16 different schools gathered for the interactive event that was led by Aevidum’s director of outreach, Mary Pritchard.

This month, the Palmerton and Lehighton clubs decided to work together to spread Aevidum’s message on a wider scale, and from that came Aevidum Awareness Night.

Both schools’ efforts to spread awareness of mental health have made major impacts in their school and community, and Aevidum Awareness Night is a prime example of that.

Ella Baumgardt, a senior girls basketball starter from Palmerton, felt the positivity in the night’s atmosphere.

“I think the atmosphere of the game was definitely special tonight, and I think all the fans and people who came out for the Aevidum Awareness Night definitely contributed to that,” she said. “It was definitely an intense night, a doubleheader and rival schools. I think it was a good cause that people came out for.”

Upon entering the games, fans paid their way in by bringing nonperishable food items that will be donated to a local food pantry to help families in need. Tables were also set in the lobby with Aevidum merchandise, such as bracelets and pamphlets, as well as shirts for purchase.

As for the student sections, the rival schools wore Aevidum’s colors: Lehighton in yellow and Palmerton in black.

Both student sections were packed full of loud, excited students who attended the games not just for the showdown, but for the cause they would be supporting even more so. The students’ energy was contagious, contributing to the night’s electric atmosphere.

On this night, the two schools put aside their rivalry and came together to spread one common message: “I’ve got your back.”