PTBOCanada Feature Post: 7 Great Ways To Help The CMHA Locally
/As 2015 comes to an end, there will without a doubt be people in our community looking to give. To who and what can be the hardest decision of the bunch! A great community ally we’d like to suggest you consider is the local CMHA.
Below are 7 ways you could top up your Charitable Donations for 2015 by supporting the Canadian Mental Health Association, Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge and support the mental health of your community!
1. Go to school with the Kids on the Block. Your gift of $100 will provide a puppet show to 20 elementary school children on a variety of topics including anti-bullying, active living and learning disabilities. This CMHA HKPR Program uses life size puppets to encourage children to talk about their feelings and learn how to resolve conflict in a safe and supportive environment.
2. Donating $50 to the Lighthouse Community Centre will provide fresh fruit for one day, to help nourish the 150 visitors that come to the centre for support for their mental health, connections to other resources such as housing and medical care while also providing them with a sense of community.
3. You could help save a life through donating to suicide prevention education. A gift of $30 would enable someone to take the safeTALK 3 hour suicide prevention program, teaching the individual how to engage in a conversation to keep someone safe until they can be connected to life-saving resources. A gift of $175 would train one person in ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training), teaching that person how to manage a suicide intervention, and to be the resource a safeTALK trained person may turn to. Register yourself for the next course and YOU could save a life.
4. Bring the gift of music and literacy to children and seniors by donating $100 to the CMHA HKPR Interlink Choir! Each September, an adult choir is paired with an elementary school classroom. The choirmaster practices weekly with the children and adults, individually, and they each exchange pen-pal letters, teaching letter writing skills. Four times a year, the two choirs meet and perform together—inspiring inter-generational friendships.
5. Your gift of $100 will provide a good night’s sleep at Safe Beds, a program through CMHA HKPR’s Four County Crisis. Anyone in crisis, mental health or otherwise, can stay free for up to 10 days while being provided case-management support, connection to housing and other resources, while staying in a safe home supported by mental health professionals.
6. Give a gift of education by donating to the Tam Grant Bursary. CMHA HKPR provides annual bursaries individuals with lived experience with mental illness so they can pursue post secondary education. A gift of $250 will help cover the cost of text books for one semester.
7. Commit to supporting a community where mental health for all is possible and take out a membership with CMHA HKPR. For as little as $20 annually, your membership will help support CMHA HKPR, while keeping you connected to our work, programs and events.
--------------------
