The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) estimates that in any given year, one in five Canadians are likely to experience a serious mental health issue during their lifetime.
For many, that time is now.
The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified financial, emotional and physical pressures, resulting in many more Canadians seeking help for mental health concerns.
According to the Saskatoon branch of the CMHA website (www.saskatoon.cmha.ca), calls to the organization from people looking for help have tripled over the past nine months. But, in order to continue providing one-to-one support as well as group programming, it takes money; most of it in the form of donations from the community.
Two events aimed at encouraging people to donate to the CMHA Saskatoon branch are in the pipeline. In July, a ‘Run for Women Day’ is slated to take place between July 4-11, with a live-stream event on July 11. The annual event, being held in Saskatoon for the first time this year, is a partnership between the CMHA Saskatoon branch and Shoppers Drug Mart. Details of the run are online.
An online auction, organized by Shoppers Drug Mart employee Kristine Greenwood and her husband, Corman Park councillor David Greenwood, is slated to take place in May. Auction services are being donated by David Greenwood’s company, E1 Auctions (www.e1.ca). All money raised through the online auction will be going to the Saskatoon branch of the CMHA. There are no buyers’ or sellers’ fees associated with the charity auction.
“I’ve been helping out with fundraising through the ‘Run for Women Day’ event for the Canadian Mental Health Association,” said Kristine Greenwood in an interview April 27. “Up until last year, it’s always been an event where people could gather and do the run together.
“But last year, we had make it a virtual event. It involves all the Shoppers Drug Mart stores across the province, and quite a bit of money has been raised. Each store has a team captain in charge of organizing the fundraising.
“This year we’ve been able to get quite a few donations.”
Greenwood said she wanted to take the fundraising a step further, and came up with the online auction to boost donations and involve people who may not otherwise have heard of the Run for Women Day.
The online auction runs May 5 through May 19. Many of the items up for sale are already posted on the E1 Auction website.
She said there will be about a hundred auction items. They range from cosmetics and fashions to motorcycle gear and everything in between.
“It’s a great way to contribute to a good cause and get something of value in return,” she said.
Greenwood said she is hoping to raise $10,000 for the Saskatoon branch of the CMHA through the online auction.