The walk is a symphony of families, people with lived experience, mental health service providers, community organizations, sponsors, entertainers, students, athletes and educators. Everyone is brought together as one, to share a mindful walk of awareness and celebrate that together we are making waves for those that struggle and their families. This year's walk includes music, a mindfulness bridge walk, Sashbear mascot, awareness passport activities and more.
John Ralston, master of ceremony—Actor from Life with Derek, Degrassi and most recently the motion picture “On the Basis of Sex”.
R. Shelley - Entertainer who will sing a song especially for the Sashbear Walk.
Heather MacLean - Olympic swimmer and friend of Sasha Menu Courey during her Etobicoke Swim Club days. She will be greeting participants at the finish line and handing out medals along with other Olympians. The first 500 participants to cross the finish line will receive a medal.
Don Campbell – Performer
REGISTER NOW to participate or volunteer or both. If you cannot attend, you can donate.
Family Connections™ Current Participants
Now that you have learnt some skills on how to take care of yourself and your loved one, how about giving back to The Sashbear Foundation. I know this course helped me so I wanted to give back. The fact the course was free definitely made it possible for me to take it. Talk to your group and maybe get a team together for the walk. See you there.
Alumni of Family Connections™
As I said I am an alumni. I would not be here today functioning as well as I do without this course. I had to give back to say thank you. The facilitators were amazing and understanding. It was nice to know that I was not alone.
Previous Walker
Thank you so much for taking time out and supporting Sashbear. Without you contributing to this major fundraising event, it would be difficult to spread the awareness of mental health. I hope to see you this year. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for participating in the walk.
Donors
Thank you for donating to such a wonderful non-profit organization. By donating to The Sashbear Foundation, your are helping to run the free Family Connections™ program for parents/caregivers/siblings/partners so they can help themselves and their relationship with their loved one. Please consider donating again this year. Every bit helps. From an alumni of Family Connections™, I would like to say thank you.
Current Sponsors
Platinum
Car Park Management™, McLean 3East
Gold
Broadleaf Health, Broadview Psychology, Centre for MindBody Health, Clearview Treatment Programs, DBT Path,Toronto DBT Centre
Silver
EBT3, Kingsbury Dental, Painter Plus, Sage Living Toronto
Together we are making a difference
All funds raised by the Sashbear Walk go towards programs that support families and youth struggling with mental health. The Sashbear Foundation is a registered Canadian charity founded in 2011. Our signature program is Family Connections™, a Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) skills-based Peer-to-Peer program which provides skills to families. Family Connectios™ is an NEABPD program created by Dr. Perry Hoffman and Dr. Alan Fruzzetti.
There is no need for a referral or diagnosis and the program is free. Sashbear understands that families are on the front line in the battle to fight mental illness and they need skills and understanding. Our program is in high demand as many health providers such as CAMH, SickKids, and the Canadian Mental Health Association are referring families to us.
Thanks to your support, The Sashbear Foundation is leading the drive to expand access to the Family Connections™ program across Canada. We now have programs running in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia. Last year over 1,000 participants benefited from this program which has been growing rapidly since 2012.
