Ahead of Bell Let's Talk Day, taking place on Wednesday, January 26, the Mohawk Mountaineers cross country program is hosting a fundraiser in support of The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
For every $5 donated the Mohawk cross country team will do one rep of the Chedoke Stairs in Hamilton (289 steps). In addition, Mountaineers Director of Athletics and Recreation Matt Ferreira will do one rep of the stairs for every $200 raised.
The team has set a fundraiser goal of $500 with the hopes to surpass those expectations with the help of the Mohawk community.
"Mental health has never been more crucial than during the pandemic," said Mountaineers cross country head coach, David Hopton. "I'm looking forward to seeing our cross country team come together to support each other and help raise awareness for mental health."
CAMH is Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital, and has more than 3,000 physicians, clinicians, researchers, educators and support staff. The organization provides clinical care to more than 34,000 patients each year.
Through the COVID-19 pandemic mental health is more prevalent than ever. Student-athletes and their peers everywhere have had to struggle in isolation without in-person learning.
One in five Canadians experience mental illness and 4,000 Canadians die by suicide each year – almost 11 people per day.
Ashley Lof has been a member of Mountaineers cross country for the last three years and has been passionate advocate for mental health.
"It's important to keep the conversations going to remind everyone that mental health is not just a social trend to discuss once a year," Lof said. "We want to build a community that is empathetic when it comes to mental illness, and in order to do that we need to be educated. We can always learn more about how to take care of ourselves and those around us."
In addition to the cross country fundraiser for CAMH, the Mountaineers will further emphasize their support for mental health over the next couple weeks. Follow Mohawk Mountaineers social media pages for more details.
To donate to the cross country fundraiser, visit their CAMH Foundation team page: https://give.camh.ca/site/TR/DIY/DIY?team_id=5286&pg=team&fr_id=1120.
