- Clara's Big Ride for Bell Let's Talk begins with a rousing
send-off from Maple Leaf Square
- It's the first of more than 200 community mental health events
with Clara in every province and territory over the 110 days of the
Big Ride
- Clara will ride 12,000 kilometres around the country before
concluding her Ride in Ottawa on
Canada Day
TORONTO, March 14, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Six-time Olympian
Clara Hughes has just begun her 12,000-kilometre bicycle journey
around Canada in support of mental health, departing moments ago
from Maple Leaf Square in downtown Toronto to the cheers of supporters and
well-wishers.
It's the first day of Clara's Big Ride for Bell Let's Talk, an
unprecedented 110-day journey to build a Canada free of the stigma
around mental illness. Clara will visit communities big and small
in every province and territory to grow the mental health
conversation before concluding her epic Ride on Parliament Hill in
Ottawa on Canada Day, July
1.
"Hey Canada, I'm on my way! By now I'm heading west on
Wellington Street to CAMH (the Centre for Addiction and Mental
Health) before hitting Lakeshore Boulevard on the road to
Hamilton, the next stop on the Big
Ride," said Clara before setting out on her epic journey. "I really
appreciate everyone coming out to Maple Leaf Square to see me off,
and I'm really looking forward to meeting and talking to so many
more Canadians on our quest to create a stigma-free nation!"
"Studies show that in any given year, one in every five
Canadians will suffer from some form of mental illness. But the
stigma means that many will not seek the support they need. I
encourage anyone who is struggling to reach out and ask for help,"
said the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport. "Clara is
playing a large role in helping to gain awareness on this subject,
we owe it to ourselves and to future Canadians to do our part as
well."
Clara's Big Ride for Bell Let's Talk includes more than 200
events organized by schools, youth organizations and community
groups in 95 communities from coast to coast to coast. Everyone is
invited to take part in the Ride by attending a local event,
joining the conversation at Bell.ca/ClarasBigRide, or raising funds
to support mental health programs in your local community.
"Everywhere Clara goes, local volunteers are organizing the
events that will spread the conversation about mental health far
and wide and make their own communities stigma free," said
Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let's
Talk. "We applaud these Community Champions who, together with our
National Advisory Committee of mental health experts, are vital to
the success of Clara's Big Ride and our goal of a stigma-free
Canada."
To learn more, and to keep up with Clara's updates from the road
on her personal blog, please visit Bell.ca/ClarasBigRide. Also
available at the web site is the limited-edition official Clara's
Big Ride jersey or technical t-shirt. Show your support for the
Ride and for Kids Help Phone - $15
from the sale of each item will be donated to the national phone
and online professional counseling service for young people across
Canada.
During the first leg of the Big Ride through Ontario, Clara will visit the following
communities:
- Hamilton - March 14 and15
- St. Thomas - March 15 and 16
- Chatham - March 16 and 17
- Windsor - March 17 and 18
- Sarnia - March 18 and 19
- London - March 19 and 20
- Kitchener - March 20 and 21
- Oshawa - March 21
- Whitby - March 22
- Peterborough - March 22 and 24
- Kingston - March 24
- Gananoque - March 25
- Cornwall /Akwesasne-
March 25 and 26
Clara's Big Ride returns to Ontario June 16
when she crosses from Manitoba on
her way to Kenora. For more
information on Clara's national route and all locations and dates,
please visit Bell.ca/ClarasBigRide.
National Partners
Clara's Big Ride is powered by the support of our National Partners
- Aimia, BMO, Canadian Tire, Cisco, Lundbeck, President's Choice
and Samsung - who are providing significant support for the Ride.
Thanks to our partners, every dollar raised at community events or
online during Clara's Big Ride will stay in the community where
it's raised to support local mental health initiatives. For more
information on our National Partners, please visit
Bell.ca/ClarasBigRide/Partners.
Bell Let's Talk
The Bell Let's Talk mental health initiative is a national
charitable program that promotes mental health across Canada with
Clara's Big Ride for Bell Let's Talk, Bell Let's Talk Day, and
significant funding for anti-stigma programs, care and access,
research, and workplace best practices. To learn more, please visit
Bell.ca/LetsTalk.
SOURCE Bell Canada