An episode of Glee featuring
closeted bully Dave Karofsky (played by Max Adler) attempting suicide
has resulted in record traffic for The Trevor Project.
In last week's episode, titled On My
Way, Karofsky attempted to kill himself after Kurt (Chris Colfer)
rejected his advances and his teammates tormented him after they
discovered that the football player is gay.
An ad from The Trevor Project featuring
Daniel Radcliffe also premiered during the episode.
California-based The Trevor Project
focuses on crisis and suicide prevention efforts for gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. The non-profit's Lifeline is
the nation's only 24-hour, toll-free confidential suicide prevention
hotline for gay and questioning young people.
“I believe that reaching out for help
is the bravest thing a person can do,” Radcliffe said in the
30-second spot. “If you are struggling and need support, call the
Trevor Lifeline.”
Peggy Rajski, a co-founder of the
group, told Entertainment Weekly that the episode led to
record traffic at the group's website and phone bank.
“What was great about the show is
that they worked in conjunction with us, so we knew in advance that
there was going to in all likelihood be an increase in volume,” she
said. “What happened was the volume went up about 300 percent, but
we were ready.”
“On average, our site probably
attracts about an average of 1,500 visits in a day. Tuesday we got
10,000. There's the power of network TV,” she added.