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CMHA Victoria Office (BC Division)

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Celebrate Mental Health Week with kindness and compassion

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Kindness and compassion are powerful forces that contribute to creating a more inclusive, supportive, and empathetic community. This year’s Mental Health Week, taking place May 6–12, centres the fundamental importance of kindness and compassion with the theme healing with compassion. Download a toolkit of Mental Health Week images so you can share the importance of kindness and compassion with your communities.

It’s a simple yet powerful reminder to be kind to ourselves, to our loved ones, and to our communities.

Be Kind: Because Compassion Connects Us All

Get ready to celebrate mental health this May, and let’s show kindness to ourselves and those around us always.

Here are a few ways you can get involved:

Volunteer at the Run For Women!

Volunteer Coordinator R4W

Join the team!

We are in need of volunteers for our upcoming Run For Women event on Saturday April 20, 2024. The Victoria Run for Women will help fundraise and support our women’s mental health programs. Last year, all funds raised went towards supporting the development of our new Living Life to the Full program, Enjoy Your Baby. This program aims to help new mothers and post-partum mental health. With continued this year’s continued support from the Run for Women and Shopper’s Foundation, we hope to soon launch Enjoy Your Baby for new parents in BC.

Apply Here: Run For Women – Victoria 2024

Great races don’t happen without great volunteers! All volunteers will receive a volunteer vest (to be returned after the event), and a swag bag!
All positions are open to high school students in order to collect community service hours. See the Volunteer job descriptions below!

 

Available Positions:

Event Site

Race Kit Pickup (2-3 volunteers per shift/per location)

Timing: 3 days before event (at local Running Room), and morning of event (at event location)

  • Comfortable interacting 1 on 1 with participants, in a friendly and welcoming manner
  • Check in participants, and register new participants for the event
  • Provide participants with any event specific information/reminders if required
  • Hand participants assigned bib, and correct t-shirt size

Swag Bag (8-10 volunteers)

Timing: event day

  • Comfortable standing for a period of time, and able to move in a quick manner
  • Hand out swag bags and additional swag items to participants
  • Break down packaging/boxes as bags are handed out
  • Clean up swag-bag area once all bags have been distributed

Bag Check (2 volunteers)

Timing: event day

  • Comfortable interacting 1 on 1 with participants
  • Must be organized and responsible for storing participants personal belongings
  • Collect participants bags/coats, and store them for the duration of the event
  • Re-distribute personal belongings post-event

Finish Line (4-6 volunteers)

Timing: event day

  • Hand out finisher bracelets, and Little Steps medals as participants cross the finish line
  • Congratulate participants as they cross the finish line
  • Hand out water bottles to participants as they cross the finish line

Food Tent (4 volunteers)

Timing: event day

  • Hand out finishers food as participants complete their 5K or 10K
  • Monitor food distribution to ensure participants take what is allotted for each individual
  • Clean up garbage/packaging throughout the event/end of the event

Course Volunteers

Water Stations (10 volunteers)

Timing: event day

  • Comfortable standing throughout the 5K/10K event, may be required to walk to water station location
  • Pre-fill cups of water prior to the event starting
  • Hand out cups of water as participants pass the water station
  • Clean up waste throughout the event/following the event

Course Marshal (15-20 volunteers- depending on City)

Timing: event day

  • Comfortable standing throughout the 5K/10K event, may be required to walk to water station location
  • Comfortable directing participants
  • Cheer participants on as they pass on the course
  • Communicate required information to participants as they pass their location on the course ex- direction, watch your step etc.

Apply Here: Run For Women – Victoria 2024

Speaking Opportunity: Youth Mental Health Summit

We are seeking two speakers for our upcoming HEADSTRONG Youth Mental Health Summit on February 8, 2024.

About the event

The Canadian Mental Health Association and Mental Health Commission of Canada are partnering again to host the 9th annual HEADSTRONG Youth Mental Health Summit. The purpose of this evidence-based event is for youth to come together for a day of learning about mental health. They will hear stories from youth with lived experience, take part in thought provoking activities and then design action plans to take back to their schools and communities to help break down the stigma surrounding mental health. We are expected to have around 10 local middle schools in attendance (grades 7 & 8), as well as some community supporters and partners. This is a paid opportunity ($350). See this article about our previous February 2020 HEADSTRONG Summit: https://victoria.cmha.bc.ca/news/youth-gather-for-anti-stigma-summit/

Opportunity

We are looking for speakers between the ages of 19 and 30 with lived experience. The role for the room speaker would be to attend for the day and engage with students and teachers and help support CMHA staff around the event. The speaker would be part of a breakout room and would share their story around a mental heath experience with the small group. This will be a 15 minute talk with a 5 minute question and answer period. The speaker will also take part in a panel with the Keynote and other Room Speakers for 30 – 40 minutes. A morning coffee break and lunch will be provided.

In addition to the speaker attending the event on February 8th, they must also attend a prior practice session.

Timeline

Apply by Wednesday January 24th, 2024

Chosen speakers must be available for a practice session during the last week of January.

Attend the event on Thursday February 8th, 2024 from 8am – 3pm.

Attend a following debrief to be scheduled after the event.

 

$350 honorarium per speaker

Apply by January 24, 2024

Contact Event Coordinator lauren.sykes@cmha.bc.ca 

Run for Women Returns to Victoria

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Join us on April 20th, 2024 at Elk Lake for the Shoppers Drug Mart Run for Women event.
Link to register: https://www.runforwomen.ca/Cities/Victoria.aspx

Date
Saturday April 20th, 2024

Location
Elk Lake Regional Park

DISTANCE

Virtual: 5K/10K Walk/Run & 1K Little Steps
In-Person: 5K Walk/Run, 10K Run &1K Little Steps

We’re excited to announce that the Run for Women will be returning to Victoria in support of CMHA on April 20th, 2024! The Victoria Run for Women will help fundraise and support our women’s mental health programs. Last year, all funds raised went towards supporting the development of our new Living Life to the Full program, Enjoy Your Baby. This program aims to help new mothers and post-partum mental health. With continued this year’s continued support from the Run for Women and Shopper’s Foundation, we hope to soon launch Enjoy Your Baby for new parents in BC.

Call for interest: seeking community experts to revise new program

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We are looking for community experts from organizations or agencies in Canada to partake in the revision of a CBT-based adaption project as part of the Living Life to the Full program.

About the project

Enjoy your baby is one of the Living Life to the Full course additional  booklets. It was designed as a CBT-based supportive resource for new parents and is offered as a group-based course in the UK.

Opportunity

All the course material used in Canada is culturally adapted. This course adaptation project starts with the booklet adaption. To develop a sustainable and inclusive adaption, we are seeking a few community experts working in relevant fields (e.g. post-partum mental health/ early childhood mental health specialists, settlement & newcomers agencies, etc.) to review the current booklet content adaptation and the illustrated layout. Your background and expertise on women’s mental health would be valuable to this project!

Timeline

Apply by December 1, 2023.

Chosen participants must submit feedback by December 15, 2023.

Assignment

  • Review Word Tables of UK and current adapted booklet content
  • Provide feedback (comment on language, accessibility, idioms, inclusivity, etc.)
  • Review and provide feedback on UK booklet layout and illustrations
  • Estimate of 6 hours of revision work

 

$250 honorarium per participant upon completion

Apply by December 1, 2023

Contact National Manager melodie.koster@cmha.bc.ca 

Living Life to the Full

Our gratitude goes to the Rheta May Pederson Memorial Trust Fund

thank_you

The Canadian Mental Health Association is pleased to announce we’ve received a grant through the Victoria Foundation to the amount of $8,595.70. Our gratitude goes to the Rheta May Pederson Memorial Trust Fund for this generous gift.

In November of 2023, we received this grant through the Victoria Foundation, and will be allocating it to our campaign The Greatest Need. This campaign exists to hold funds to be used for the organization’s area of greatest need, as it changes year to year.

We’d also like to acknowledge the Victoria Foundation for the facilitation and disbursement of funds, and providing a necessary connection between communities and organizations like the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Victoria Foundation logo

Upcoming LLTTF course for ages 55+

To register please call (250)-388-4268 (1)
To register please call the Silver Threads Victoria Centre at (250) 388-4268.
Living Life to the Full (LLTTF) is an 8-week program that will teach you strategies to deal with emotions when you feel fed up, worried, or hopeless. Using Cognitive Behavioral Principals, participants will learn how to reverse negative habits and develop new processes to rebuild happiness. There’s still room left in our LLTTF course happening every Monday at Silver Threads.
—
Course Details:
Date: Mondays, September 18th to November 27th
Time: 1:30pm to 3:30pm
Cost: 8/$30 + GST
Ages: 55+
Location:
Silver Threads Victoria Centre
1911 Quadra Street
Victoria, BC
V8T 4C1

Ride Don’t Hide Returns! June 4, 2023

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The Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division is excited to announce the return of Ride Don’t Hide in 2023!

For the 12th year in a row, RDH will be returning to Victoria hosted by the CMHA BC Division Victoria office. We are so excited for the return of this event, and hope you will join us for another spectacular event day full of community, togetherness, fun, and mental health awareness. Registration is now open, and we are welcoming back all of our usual routes – from the 5km Walk to the 100km Ride!

Find more details on our official Ride Don’t Hide page www.ridedonthide.com/victoria.

register now button link

 

 

Got a question about the ride? Reach out to our Ride Coordinator lauren.sykes@cmha.bc.ca

Our gratitude goes to the Rheta May Pederson Memorial Trust Fund

thank_you

The Canadian Mental Health Association is pleased to announce we’ve received a grant through the Victoria Foundation to the amount of $8,002.65. Our gratitude is to the Rheta May Pederson Memorial Trust Fund for this generous gift.

In December of 2022, we received this grant through the Victoria Foundation, and will be allocating it to our campaign The Greatest Need. This campaign exists to hold funds to be used for the organization’s area of greatest need, as it changes year to year.

We’d also like to acknowledge the Victoria Foundation for the facilitation and disbursement of funds, and providing a necessary connection between communities and organizations like us.

Victoria Foundation logo

Our Gratitude to the Axel & Wendy Foght Fund

thank_you

The Canadian Mental Health Association is pleased to announce we’ve received a grant through the Victoria Foundation to the amount of $4,000. Our gratitude is to the Axel & Wendy Foght Fund for this generous gift.

In December of 2022, we received this grant through the Victoria Foundation, and will be allocating it to our campaign The Greatest Need. This campaign exists to hold funds to be used for the organization’s area of greatest need, as it changes year to year.

We’d also like to acknowledge the Victoria Foundation for the facilitation and disbursement of funds, and providing a necessary connection between communities and organizations like us.

Victoria Foundation logo