People run into Lake Ontario at Woodbine Beach in Toronto on Dec. 3 to raise funds for non-profit Jack.org at the annual Brainfreeze polar plunge fundraiser.Neil Osborne/Supplied
The organizers: More than 500 donors, volunteers and staff
The pitch: Raising $167,000
The cause: To fund mental-health programs for young people
As the COVID-19 pandemic recedes across Canada, it has left a lasting impact particularly on young people.
A recent report by the charity Jack.org found that less than half – 40 per cent – of young people surveyed described their mental health as good. That compared with 60 per cent in a similar survey in 2019. “That’s a big drop in the quality of mental health of youth,” said Nimanthie Ariyasinghe, a spokesperson for the organization. Just because the pandemic has eased, she said, “things haven’t gotten better in the world.”
The charity was set up by Eric Windeler and Sandra Hanington whose 18-year-old son Jack Windeler died by suicide in 2010 during his first year at Queens University. Jack.org works with young people in chapters across the country, mostly in universities, colleges and high schools. The couple’s goal was to “prevent youth suicide and to make sure that young people can talk to each other about mental health,” said Ms. Ariyasinghe.
The group’s major annual fundraising event, called Brainfreeze, involves a winter dip in a lake or river. The event had to be cancelled for a couple of years because of COVID-19, but it returned this year with swims in five locations: Toronto, Collingwood, Ont., Montreal, Vancouver and Halifax. More than 500 people braved the icy waters on Nov. 26 and Dec. 3 and they raised just over $167,000. While the total was off the charity’s goal of $250,000, it was better than the $150,000 raised in 2019.
Ms. Ariyasinghe said the many crises in the world – from the war in Ukraine to the soaring cost of living and economic slowdown – have increased the need for the charity’s services. “We see a lot of requests coming in,” she said. “We see a lot of interest not just from young people, but also from educators asking how to help their students. So we see the need increasing even right now.”