Trippy Bunny, a new nonfungible token (NFT) project built on Solana, has announced that it is donating all of its mint sale proceeds to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
The announcement was made on Suicide Prevention Day, a global awareness event observed on Sept. 10. The annual awareness day was first organized in 2003 by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. Today, it has the support of the World Health Organization and the World Federation for Mental Health.
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE TRIPPY BUNNY TRIBE!
— Trippy Bunny Tribe - SOLD OUT IN 16 SECONDS! (@TrippyBunnyNFT) September 11, 2021
Today is National Suicide Prevention Day and we've decided, as a team, to donate ALL the mint sales raised to @afspnational thru @TheGivingBlock.
THATS $220,886 $GUSD TO HELP PREVENT SUICIDE!
FULL ETHERSCAN: https://t.co/n5N69KsadP pic.twitter.com/LBFwahSBGn
Globally, it’s estimated that 700,000 people die by suicide every year, according to United for Global Mental Health, an international foundation that promotes mental health, In 2019, it was estimated that more than one in every 100 deaths globally was caused by suicide.
Trippy Bunny’s mint proceeds were collected through Gemini dollars (GUSD) and totaled $220,886. The entire amount will go towards the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The project published the transaction hash identification, which appeared on Etherscan.
Trippy Bunny minted 1,111 NFTs on Sept. 10 and each collectible was valued at 1.11 Solana (SOL). At the time of writing, SOL is valued just under $189, according to Cointelegraph Markets Pro.
The GUSD token transfer was facilitated by The Giving Block, a cryptocurrency donations platform that has launched several initiatives to increase charitable contributions from the blockchain industry. The company’s latest initiative, dubbed Crypto Giving Pledge, saw contributions from leading industry veterans including Ryan Selkis, Dan Matuszewski, Qiao Wang and Haseeb Qureshi.
"We’re excited to continue to see such generosity from NFT creators and the broader crypto community," Alex Wilson, co-founder of The Giving Block, told Cointelegraph. "The NFT community has raised millions for many important causes and it’s great to see Trippy Bunny choose the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. We hope this donation inspires more donations like it."
Related: Cryptocurrency can actually make a difference by helping people
The cryptocurrency industry has demonstrated its generosity by contributing millions of dollars to charitable organizations. In May of this year, crypto projects Munch and Elongate collectively raised over $3 million for various nonprofit organizations. Several leading nonprofits have also begun accepting contributions in cryptocurrency, including the American Cancer Society, which in January announced that it had established a $1 million Cancer Crypto Fund to increase its capacity to accept donations.