Toronto Maple Leaf Mitchell Marner, and his team at the Marner Assist Foundation (MAF), held the first annual Sink the Stigma event in London, Ont.
On Thursday, the mini-putt fundraiser was held in East Park to support the London Health Sciences Centre’s (LHSC) First Episode Mood and Anxiety Program (FEMAP).
The program is the first in Canada that aims to reverse the “first episodes” of mental illness for youth aged 16-25.
“I think just sometimes people have a lot of weight on their shoulders, and they don’t want to express themselves and talk about it,” Marner told Global News. “Hosting this fundraiser in London not only holds special meaning to me personally but will unite the community and raise funds for mental health programs,”
According to Marner, MAF’s primary goal is to “generate sustainable change for children and youth” as the foundation focuses on children’s social care, health, environmental causes and education.
“Events like Sink the Stigma not only raise critical funds for essential community programs but they also raise awareness for youth mental health by helping fund solutions where they can do the most good,” said Dr. Osuch, founder and physician lead for FEMAP.
“I am grateful for the generosity of our community and events like Sink the Stigma that allow FEMAP to continue making such a huge a difference in the lives of young people.”
Participants of Sink the Stigma got the chance to not only meet Marner, but celebrity guests such as country star Tim Hicks, Olympians Alex Kopacz, Alysha Newman and former NHL Hockey Player Mike Krushelnyski.
Hicks said that talking about mental health is important “now more than ever.”
![“Mental health is stigmatized, and I hope this [annual] event will continue the conversion to address those preconceptions,” Toronto Maple Leaf Mitchell Marner told Global News at the first annual Sink the Stigma fundraiser event in London, Ont., Thursday Sept. 15.](https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Sink-the-Stigma.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&w=1200)
Marner added that he hopes the new annual fundraiser will bring the community together and show the power and importance of working together as a team.
“Without a team, it’s a hard fight,” he said. “In this mental health fight, there’s always a team around you that’s willing to talk and always willing to hear you out and that’s the kind of thing that we’re trying to get out there and the stigma gone.
— with files from Global News’ Mike Stubbs
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