(Sept. 17, 2018, Toronto) – The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Ontario Division would like to thank the Rexall Foundation for its $10,000 donation to Talk Today, a program which promotes positive mental health and provides suicide prevention education to amateur athletes, including Canada’s top junior hockey players.
This donation will be used to support Talk Today workshops and help raise awareness amongst athletes and fans about the importance of speaking openly about mental health and suicide.
Over the past four years, the Talk Today program has trained over 3,000 athletes, coaches, staff and parents about how to acknowledge signs of suicide, where to seek help, and how to connect others to suicide first aid resources.
“Youth athletes routinely face stress and challenges when balancing their responsibilities at home, in sports, and in the classroom,” said Frank Monteleone, President and Chair, Rexall Foundation. “The Rexall Foundation is pleased to provide this donation to help raise awareness among young athletes to ensure they know that their mental health is just as important as their physical health.”
Through Talk Today, athletes and sports organizations are also connected to local CMHA branches where they can access mental health resources, seek referrals to community mental health and addictions support or crisis intervention services.
“We are grateful for the Rexall Foundation’s generous support of Talk Today as it will help us to grow the program so that we can continue to use sports and athletics as a conduit to connect with young people about mental health and addictions issues,” said Camille Quenneville, CEO, CMHA Ontario
.
About CMHA Ontario
CMHA Ontario is a not-for-profit, charitable organization that works to improve the lives of all Ontarians through leadership, collaboration and continual pursuit of excellence in community-based mental health and addictions services. Our vision is a society that embraces and invests in the mental health of all people. We are a trusted advisor to government, contributing to health systems development through policy formulation and recommendations that promote positive mental health. Our 30 local CMHA branches, together with community-based mental health and addictions service providers across the province, serve approximately 500,000 Ontarians each year.
About the Rexall Foundation
The Rexall Foundation has been helping build strong and vibrant communities by supporting numerous charitable organizations since 2002. Whether it’s a community or children’s hospital or a disease prevention organization, the Foundation values the role it plays in helping the delivery of numerous programs and services in Canada. In 2018, the Rexall Foundation has already donated over $ 736,069 to 65 charitable organizations that promote the health and wellness of children and seniors, including charities in Ontario, such as Easter Seals Ontario, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation, Hospice Wellington, Project AIM Programs, Geneva Centre for Autism Foundation, plus many more local and national charities across Canada.
-30-
Joe Kim
Director of Communications
Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario
Tel: 416-977-5580 Ext. 4141
jkim@ontario.cmha.ca
Julia Sutton
Communications Business Partner
Rexall
Tel: 905-501-7900
jsutton@rexall.ca