GRHS students premiere film about Jay Foundation and suicide‑prevention 'boot checks'

Green River High School theater students showed a documentary Feb. 3 about the Jay Foundation and the late Jay Bob Bing, describing how the foundation has prompted student peer‑support practices at the high school.

Mr. Skinner, who introduced the showing, praised the students’ work in producing the film. Three student filmmakers—Kira Mollman, Peyton Shiner and Braden Thompson—were recognized; Rhiannon Schultz was not present. Peyton Shiner provided the film narration, which the presenter said the students recorded and refined; the teacher also noted a short version of the film received a perfect score at the state Thespian festival and a longer version premiered recently at the Casper International Film Festival.

The film traces Jay Bob Bing’s life, his tragic death by suicide in 2016, and the family’s creation of the Jay Foundation to raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention. The students described a school practice called "boot checks," where students wear boots on Wednesdays as a visible reminder to check in with peers and to ask how classmates are doing.

Student comments in the piece emphasized peer support and normalizing conversations about mental health: "I think wearing my J boots, it gives me that reminder that, I'm not alone in a sense," one student said in the narration. Presenters said the Jay Foundation partners directly with high schools to raise awareness and provide resources, and cited instances of the foundation helping Green River High School with weekly check‑ins and campus culture shifts.

After the showing the board thanked the students and noted the film’s festival recognition. The administration said it hopes the Jay Foundation might use the film in future outreach, and presenters reported the students had networking opportunities with visiting filmmakers at the festival.