Dozen of volunteers came out to Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford to break a Guinness World Record on Saturday.
The event is an attempt to break the longest chain of carabineers. The current record is 8,622 carabineers and was set in September 2019.
The event also serves as an opportunity to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. October 10 is World Mental Health Day.
Linked 4 Life's carabiners were put together from individual donations of $3 at Bear's Restaurant Group locations, online and partner locations.
At least 20 teams from across the state joined in on the action to help promote the importance of mental health.
Eleven thousand carabineers were used to break the record. Organizers came up with the number to represent an estimated 1,100 college students that die by suicide each year in the U.S.
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The goal of the event was to also invite individuals to speak openly about mental health issues and encourage others to listen and to let everyone know that they are not alone.
"These carabineers are a reminder that the most important thing you can do is to help someone and let them know that you are there," said Cheryl Antoncic, co-owner of Bear's Restaurant Group. "This is a one-day event, however; it's not a one day conversation and these carabineers will continue on and we're going to keep continuing to make a chain of hope."
The event also served as a launch for an on-going nation-wide movement to raise awareness of being open to understanding mental health and suicide prevention.
