Paddlers gather at Crescent Beach for youth mental health fundraiser
With the sound of an airhorn, the first paddleboard relay race got underway at the annual Champion of the Crescent fundraiser in Blackie Spit Park.
Each team of four had to raise a minimum of $3,000 to take part in the races in Boundary Bay on Friday.
'The water is refreshing, right? When you work as hard as we work, it feels good to get a little cold,' said Craig Enns, whose team finished first in their opening heat thanks to his frantic sprint to the finish on the beach.
All funds raised go towards youth mental health programming at Surrey Memorial Hospital.
Event organizers set a goal of raising $275,000 – with some of that money earmarked for transition services.
'(That means) providing services in the community,' said Nicole Robson, president and CEO of the Surrey Hospitals Foundation.
'Once people have come in and accessed acute mental health in the hospital, it's really important to ensure the transition home is supported and supported well.'
According to staff at Fraser Health, many people living with mental health issues first experience them between the ages of 14 and 24.
'The sooner we're able to get services in place and help support an individual, it really helps them to recover and then put them on a positive trajectory in life,' said Geneva Healey, the child, youth, young adult, mental health and substance use director of clinical operations at Fraser Health.
Organizers did not immediately have a final tally of the funds raised, but said between corporate sponsors and individual donations they were closing in on their goal.
'We're a young community. We've got to take care of our youth, not only physically but mentally,' said David McFarlane, vice-president and COO of EllisDon Corporation, one of the event's major sponsors.
'It's struggles that we don't appreciate as adults, and we've got to put mental health front and centre.'
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