Funds to support youth mental health at Sunnybrook Health Sciences
Centre
TORONTO, Sept. 21, 2013 /CNW/ - Today, more than 4,500 runners
participated in the first annual RBC Run for the Kids and raised over
$1 million in support of youth mental health services at Sunnybrook
Health Sciences Centre. The two-day event includes a five-kilometre run
on Saturday and a 25-kilometre run on Sunday.
"Children's mental health is a cause close to our hearts at RBC and it
was great to see so many of our employees out with their families and
friends providing their support," said Jamie Anderson, executive
champion of the RBC Children's Mental Health Project. "RBC is committed
to help improve access to essential mental health services for children
and youth and we are proud to be part of the Family Navigation
Project."
Funds raised from the RBC Run for the Kids event will go towards the
establishment of the Family Navigation Project at Sunnybrook. The
Project is a non-profit program designed to provide expert navigation
of the mental health and addictions service system for youth aged 14 to
24 with serious mental health and/or addiction problems.
"As many as two million Canadian youth struggle with a mental health or
addiction problem, and yet only one in five will get specialized
treatment," said Dr. Anthony Levitt, co-chair of the Family Navigation
Project and a psychiatrist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. "This
is, in large part, because families don't know where to go or how to
find the services their children need. The Family Navigation Project
will give youth with mental health issues and their families a place to
start and a path to follow."
Sunnybrook's Family Navigation Project will revolutionize the way youth
mental health care is accessed in Canada. The Project will pair
families with navigators - experts in accessing the health-care system
who can provide insight into the wide cross-section of available
services. The navigator will suggest resources, and find the right
program for each youth, while patients and families will have a better
understanding of their options and how to access services.
The weekend-long RBC Run for the Kids features appearances by The
SpongeBob BMX Team, Nickelodeon favourites Dora the Explorer,
SpongeBob, Blues Clues and The Wonder Pets, and a special performance
by Brooklyn Roebuck, winner of The Next Star Canada. RBC Olympians
Jennifer Botterill, Heather Hamilton, Kevin Rempel and Greg Westlake
were also in attendance.
About Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre is inventing the future of health care
for the 1.2 million patients the hospital cares for each year through
the dedication of its more than 10,000 staff and volunteers. An
internationally recognized leader in research and education and a full
affiliation with the University of Toronto distinguishes Sunnybrook as
one of Canada's premier academic health sciences centres. Sunnybrook
specializes in caring for high-risk pregnancies, critically-ill
newborns and adults, offering specialized rehabilitation and treating
and preventing cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological and
psychiatric disorders, orthopaedic and arthritic conditions and
traumatic injuries. The Hospital also has a unique and national leading
program for the care of Canada's war veterans. For more information
about how Sunnybrook is inventing the future of health care please
visit us online at www.sunnybrook.ca.
About RBC's Commitment to Community and Sustainability
Royal Bank of Canada (RY on TSX and NYSE) and its subsidiaries operate
under the master brand name RBC. We employ approximately 80,000 full-
and part-time employees who serve more than 15 million personal,
business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in
Canada, the U.S. and 49 other countries. RBC is recognized among the
world's financial, social and environmental leaders and is listed on
the 2012 - 2013 Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, the DJSI North
American Index, the Jantzi Social Index and the FTSE4Good Index. RBC is
one of Canada's Greenest Employers, one of Canada's 50 Most Socially
Responsible Corporations and among the Global 100 Most Sustainable
Corporations in the World. Learn more at www.rbc.com/community-sustainability.
RBC supports a broad range of community initiatives through donations,
sponsorships and employee volunteer activities. In 2012, we contributed
more than
$95 million to causes worldwide, including donations and community
investments of more than $64 million and $31 million in sponsorships.
SOURCE RBC
