Sunnybrook launches RBC Run for the Kids
Canadian Olympians, RBC employees, Sunnybrook staff and members of the community came together on May 6 to help launch the first RBC Run for the Kids event in Toronto.
The event will take place over the weekend of Sept. 21-22 and will support the creation of the Family Navigation Project within Sunnybrook's leading youth psychiatry program.
"As many as two million Canadian youth struggle with a mental health or addictions problem, and yet only one in five will get specialized treatment," says Dr. Anthony Levitt, co-chair of the Family Navigation Project and a psychiatrist at Sunnybrook.
"This is in large part because families don't know where to go or how to find the services their children need. The Family Navigation Project will give youth with mental health issues and their families a place to start and a path to follow."
The RBC Run for the Kids includes three different run components - a 5-kilometre run/walk, a 15-km youth challenge and a 25-km race - all in and around the Sunnybrook neighbourhood. Each component is represented by a different colour, something that was reinforced during the event launch as teams of runners, led by RBC Olympians Greg Westlake, Kevin Rempel, Mikael Kingsbury and Jennifer Botterill, dressed in blue, green and yellow, gathered on the Sunnybrook grounds.
"While RBC is not an expert in the field of mental health, we understand the toll it can take on youth and families, as well as the workplace, school and our communities," says Jamie Anderson, RBC's head of Corporate Strategy & Development and executive champion of the RBC Children's Mental Health Project. "The RBC Children's Mental Health Project enables us to provide funding to critical initiatives like Sunnybrook's Family Navigation Project through the RBC Run for the Kids."
Dr. Jon Dellandrea, president and CEO of Sunnybrook Foundation, says "we've set our sights high for the event, with a fundraising goal of $800,000. Achieving this will ensure this important program is up and running and helping Toronto youth by the end of 2013."
The Family Navigation Project is a first-of-its-kind program in Canada to help families navigate the complex web of mental health services, ensuring youth get quick access to the right care, and meeting a vital need of families with youth seeking mental health services. It aims to reach at least 1,000 families annually, and ideally it will become a model other treatment centres can follow.
To register for the event or find out more, visit www.rbcrunforthekids.ca.
Video courtesy of Global Toronto.
Full media release
Canadian Olympians, RBC employees, Sunnybrook staff and members of the community came together on May 6 to help launch the first RBC Run for the Kids event in Toronto.
The event will take place over the weekend of Sept. 21-22 and will support the creation of the Family Navigation Project within Sunnybrook's leading youth psychiatry program.
"As many as two million Canadian youth struggle with a mental health or addictions problem, and yet only one in five will get specialized treatment," says Dr. Anthony Levitt, co-chair of the Family Navigation Project and a psychiatrist at Sunnybrook.
"This is in large part because families don't know where to go or how to find the services their children need. The Family Navigation Project will give youth with mental health issues and their families a place to start and a path to follow."
The RBC Run for the Kids includes three different run components - a 5-kilometre run/walk, a 15-km youth challenge and a 25-km race - all in and around the Sunnybrook neighbourhood. Each component is represented by a different colour, something that was reinforced during the event launch as teams of runners, led by RBC Olympians Greg Westlake, Kevin Rempel, Mikael Kingsbury and Jennifer Botterill, dressed in blue, green and yellow, gathered on the Sunnybrook grounds.
"While RBC is not an expert in the field of mental health, we understand the toll it can take on youth and families, as well as the workplace, school and our communities," says Jamie Anderson, RBC's head of Corporate Strategy & Development and executive champion of the RBC Children's Mental Health Project. "The RBC Children's Mental Health Project enables us to provide funding to critical initiatives like Sunnybrook's Family Navigation Project through the RBC Run for the Kids."
Dr. Jon Dellandrea, president and CEO of Sunnybrook Foundation, says "we've set our sights high for the event, with a fundraising goal of $800,000. Achieving this will ensure this important program is up and running and helping Toronto youth by the end of 2013."
The Family Navigation Project is a first-of-its-kind program in Canada to help families navigate the complex web of mental health services, ensuring youth get quick access to the right care, and meeting a vital need of families with youth seeking mental health services. It aims to reach at least 1,000 families annually, and ideally it will become a model other treatment centres can follow.
To register for the event or find out more, visit www.rbcrunforthekids.ca.
