This year I have decided to honour Mental Health Awareness Month by participating in the BMO “Walk So Kids Can Talk” Walkathon in support of “Kids Help Phone” this coming Sunday, May 7th; a non-profit organization very dear to my heart (see link below).
Of course, Rich will be right by my side.
As many of you know, in the spring of 2020 I started a graduation lawn sign initiative shortly after the Pandemic began because I wanted to find a meaningful way to honour our graduates, this of course included my youngest daughter, who at the time was all set to complete her final year of High School and was missing out on so many of life’s milestones and rites of passage that came along with it (it still doesn’t feel real today).
It was a difficult time for her as it was for so many other young people as well.
I never could’ve imagined what happened next though…
In a matter of 6 weeks I sold and hand delivered over 700 lawn signs throughout the GTHA that spring (with the help of my wonderful hubby), placing signs front and center on lawns everywhere but more importantly, bringing smiles (from 6 feet away) to the faces of so many people, both young and old alike. The response was overwhelming, but in a very good way.
By the end of my campaign that June I had raised and donated over $10,000 for Kids Help Phone with the incredible outpouring of support and generosity within these beautiful communities. I had chosen this particular charity at the time for so many reasons but mostly it was in knowing that so many of our youth were stuck in their homes during quarantine and needing an outlet for which to talk, vent, scream or cry to when other outside resources were unavailable to them. Kids Help Phone offered that safe space and more and still does.
At the start of spring 2021 it quickly became apparent to me that our soon to be graduating class was once again about to lose out on those same deserving milestones and rites of passage due to the never-ending Pandemic; my middle daughter included who had been working so tiresomely online all year to complete her 4 year undergraduate Degree in Communications.
By the end of that spring I had raised an additional $5k for youth mental health initiatives, bringing the total to just under $16k by then, this time though I decided to spread the wealth around to other smaller youth oriented community initiatives instead of donating all of the proceeds to just one place.
In the spring of 2022 when life was starting to feel a little more normal I had decided not to continue with my campaign efforts as I had recently created a new initiative called @agentlereminderproject, selling handmade, one-of-a-kind apparel and other items, including lawn signs, keychains and cosmetic pouches as well (check it out on Instagram). It was keeping me very busy and still with the same focus in mind of donating a portion of the proceeds to youth mental health initiatives. But as I began to receive more and more emails and DM’s from community members asking if I would be selling graduation lawn signs again last year I decided to give it another go. By the end of its third year I had reached a new milestone, raising $20,000 for youth mental health.
Although I may have started the initiative back in 2020 because I wanted to show our graduates some extra loving during a really difficult time, at the end of the day, it took on a whole other meaning within itself and grew into something even more purposeful than I could have ever imagined; something way beyond the parameters of any Pandemic and something I am most proud of in my life. This initiative opened up so many important conversations in communities all across the GTHA and helped spread some much needed awareness surrounding our youth and mental health; which I am truly grateful for.
It’s that time of year again when I start receiving email and DM requests asking if I am selling graduation lawn signs again this year and me being the people pleaser that I am, I am feeling a sense of guilt and sadness when I tell people, NO, and stating all kinds of reasons why I can’t do it including my need to focus my efforts elsewhere by honouring the state of both my mental and physical wellbeing right now. Of course if I wasn’t such a people pleaser though, I would know that I don’t need any explanation at all because NO is actually a full sentence.
So this year, as I mentioned above I will be celebrating our youth in a different way by participating in the BMO “Kids Help Phone”, continuing the conversation and spreading awareness for youth mental health with my @gentlereminderproject initiative as well.
Let’s all do our part together.
If you wish to make a donation to this great cause or join us on the Walkathon please visit: https://kidshelpphone.akaraisin.com/bmowalksokidscantalk/7a92f125690b4e83bc64c8590782ac9b
*Kid’s Help Phone is available 24/7 across Canada. To reach a confidential counsellor anytime please call 1-800-668-6868 or text 686868
*To learn more about my own personal mental health journey and initiatives please follow my blog at: youareenough712.wordpress.com or check out my Facebook and Instagram pages.
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