Oregon City Students Offer Messages of Hope On Hawthorne Bridge

OREGON CITY, OR – It might be the most wonderful time of the year for many, many people. At the same time, it is most definitely not the case.

People struggle with issues ranging from health to money and more. They find themselves in a vortex of despair, falling downward, maybe no longer even realizing just how much pain that they are in.

They feel alone. They are unable to let people know of the hurt inside.

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A group of Oregon City High School students ae aware of that and, on Thursday, headed out to the Hawthorne Bridge, one of the many crossing the Willamette. Their purpose was simple – they tied hundreds of notes reminding people that no matter how alone that they feel, no matter how dark things may seem, there are people out there for them.

They also left messages to people to remember to look out for those around them.

"People can be so quiet about their pain, that you forget they are hurting," reads one. "That is why is is so important to always be kind."

Oregon-based Dutch Bros Coffee, which has built a reputation of being socially active, provided the students with coffee, hot chocolate, whatever they needed to stay warm and, in the words of the school, "turbo charged with sugar and caffeine."

Oregon City High School said that the students acted "in the spirit of less talking, more doing and giving more than we take."

Photos via Oregon City High School.