Community
St. Joseph’s High School bringing awareness to mental health all week
For the first-time ever, St. Joseph High School students will be participating in a Grad Service Project. This year, students will be raising funds for the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation. The Foundation is geared at providing financial help to those with mental illness, as well as supporting the youth showing signs of, or experiencing a mental health crisis. The founders Cindy and Rick More, have continued to advocate for mental health awareness after losing their daughter, Lindsey, to suicide
The Grad Committee chose the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation, because students saw and continue to see, the daily effects that mental health has on people and how it affects the school community. Their hope is to leave behind a legacy of encouraging students to make positive and healthy choices, while creating a “ripple” effect throughout the school and The City of Red Deer.
Mental health was a huge topic of conversation amongst the Grad Committee when determining where they wanted to focus their fundraising efforts for their inaugural year. Driving factors also included St. Joseph High School’s sense of community, inclusiveness and acceptance of others.
“We are striving to work towards a culture where we can break down the barriers related to mental illness and make it easier for our students to talk about. A primary focus for our Grad Service Project week will be to spread awareness about mental health problems among students and come together as a school community. Many of the events we have planned stem from the notion of ‘togetherness’ and how the hands of many have the potential to create change and positively impact youth struggling with these illnesses,” said Event Coordinator, Ashley Visscher at St. Joseph High School.
This week, the Grade 12 students and staff will participate in a series of events focusing on healthy ways to improve overall mental health, and aim to not only raise funds, but awareness about mental illness.
Some of the highlights include:
Today, April 16 – Unplug for Mental Health Cellphone-Free Day
To kick-off our Grad Service Project week, students and staff are being urged to disconnect to connect! The hope is that the school community can “unplug” for a day (only one!) by giving up their cell phone to help raise awareness for mental health and open themselves up for real, face-to-face conversations with their teachers, friends, etc.
Students will get to be a part of creating a “ripple” effect throughout the Red Deer community to disconnect to connect.
Why? The Unplug for Mental Health event aims to provide a safe community where students and teachers can engage in meaningful conversations with one-another, rather than sending an email, text or phone call as well as learn how to manage the amount of time they spend on social media in a healthy way.
TUESDAY, April 17 – Restaurant Takeover at State & Main (South Location 5-8 PM)
Tickets are becoming limited but a few remain at $10. Please visit the St. Joseph’s HS front office to purchase tickets)
All are welcome! This event is open to the general public!
All money from ticket sales and 10% of all food sales will go towards the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation. There’ a great Silent auction with awesome prizes and some Celebrity servers including some uniformed members of our community; Red Deer RCMP Supt. Ken Foster, Honourary Lieutenant Colonel (Lloyd) Lewis of 41 Signal Regiment (and President of Todayville), a Captain from Westjet, School Principal Mr. Graeme Daniel and others.
April 18 – A Smile A Day Keeps the Doctor Away – On-site photobooth and smile wall
April 19 – Movin’ For Mental Health Exercisathon
April 20 – Let It Ripple Day
You can find out all about this week’s events and the Grad Service Project week by clicking here: https://stjosephhigh.ca/graduation/grad-service-project.
For more information, please visit the school website at https://stjosephhigh.ca/.
Community
100+ Women Who Care Red Deer celebrates 10th season in 2025 with new leadership
L to R: Cindy Jefferies, Susan Knopp, Lane Tomalty, Bre Fitzpatrick
Photo credit: The SnapHappy Photographer
After a decade of leadership under Cindy Jefferies and Susan Knopp, 100+ Women Who Care Red Deer (100+ WWCRD) is proud to celebrate 10 years of supporting local charities and the announcement of Bre Fitzpatrick and Lane Tomalty as its new co-leaders. This marks an exciting new chapter for the group, which has made a significant impact on not-for-profit organizations in Central Alberta.
Cindy and Susan have led 100+ WWCRD with vision, dedication, and a commitment to empowering women to lead and inspire change. Under their stewardship, the organization has raised over $630,000 for local charities by hosting 4 annual 1-hour meetings. Since 2015, more than 36 local charities have received funding through the group.
Reflecting on their tenure, Cindy and Susan stated:
“Leading 100 Women has been an honour and a privilege. When we began this journey, we didn’t know where it would go – we simply loved the simple, elegant, and fun ‘100 Who Care’ concept and thought it was a great fit for our community. We are grateful to the many women who have stood with us. They are the magic of the organization! We are confident Bre and Lane will steward this leadership role well and we look forward to supporting it – just not from behind the microphone!”
Bre and Lane bring a dynamic energy and fresh perspective to the organization. Both have been involved with the group and have been mentored by Susan and Cindy over the past year. They are eager to continue the collaboration, connection, and local support this team of women have established in Red Deer.
In their joint statement, Bre and Lane shared:
“We are humbled to step into this role and build on the incredible foundation Cindy and Susan have laid. Many needs are at the doorstep of our community and in the hearts and minds of our members. We know a powerful, caring, and united group of individuals can play a huge role in driving change and breaking barriers.
To celebrate this milestone and leadership transition, the 100+ WWCRD hosted the final meeting of 2024 on November 25th at the Red Deer Golf and Country Club. The evening featured reflections from Cindy and Susan, the selection of the Salvation Army as the charity of choice, an opportunity for members to connect with Bre and Lane as they outline their vision for the organization’s next chapter, and a toast to 10 years.
For more information, please visit www.100womenreddeer.ca
About 100+ Women Who Care Red Deer
100+ Women Who Care Red Deer is a network of compassionate, empowered, and dedicated women who make a direct, immediate, and positive impact in Red Deer and area. We support local non-profit and charitable organizations that work every day to make our community a better place to live. 100% of funds donated go to the selected charities – there are no
administration fees, and all costs are covered by the generosity of sponsors. Collectively, we make a difference.
The group meets 4 times annually for 1 hour. Non-profit and charitable organizations are nominated by members. After hearing 3 randomly drawn pitches, the members vote to select their top choice. The group with the highest number of votes receives the members’ donations. Each member or team commits to donating $100 at each meeting. Since 2015, the average raised has been more than $15,000 per meeting.
Membership is open to all women In Red Deer and area. We invite you to join us! The first meeting of 2025 will be on Monday, February 3, 2025.
Founded in February 2015, the organization currently has about 150 members. We are committed to uniting this powerful group of 100+ women who care and lifting the amazing non-profits and charitable groups they support.
Community
Festival of Trees tickets on sale! Update from the Red Deer Regional Health Foundation
Festival of Trees tickets are on sale now! Get ’em while they’re hot!
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