Holland Bloorview x UPOW Collab

I am kicking off my last year of high school with the launch of the Holland Bloorview x UPOW Collab!

As a long-time member of the Holland Bloorview Virtual Youth Volunteer Committee, I launched this exciting collaboration in September to raise awareness about youth mental illness and fundraise money for Holland Bloorview.

Read more about my mission below!

Why did you start UPOW?

 The pandemic revealed and exacerbated a mental health crisis in Canada. I saw first-hand the struggles that my peers and community members were going through. I am moved by injustice and suffering - and I had to act. I founded UPOW to raise both awareness and funds for mental health struggles, especially with young people. I want people to move upward to improve their mental health, and onward, to live their best lives.

What does mental health mean to you? 

Mental health is health. As a society, we did not think of it this way until very recently, and even today, there is stigma. Mental illness is not something to be ashamed of. I envision a world where we feel as comfortable telling people we have depression as that we have a cold - and that we treat both as the medical disease they are.

Why did Holland Bloorview partner with UPOW?  

I have been a member of the Holland Bloorview Foundation's Virtual Youth Volunteer Committee for a number of years now, and when I founded UPOW, I knew that there would be synergies between the hospital foundation and UPOW. We have partnered on a number of initiatives, and I look forward to continued engagement. Holland Bloorview's mission of creating a world of possibility for kids and youth with disabilities (including those with mental illness) is more important now than ever, and UPOW is honoured by the partnership we have with the foundation. 

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital believes in creating a world where all youth and children belong. We are the only children’s rehabilitation hospital in Canada focused on combining world-class care, transformational research, and academic leadership in the field of child and youth rehabilitation and disability. We are a top 40 Canadian research hospital that is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto. Providing both inpatient and outpatient services, Holland Bloorview is renowned for its expertise in co-creating with clients and families to provide exceptional care and is the only organization to ever achieve 100 per cent in three successive quality surveys by Accreditation Canada. Holland Bloorview is a founding member of Kids Health Alliance, a network of partners working to create a high quality, consistent and coordinated approach to pediatric health care that is centred around children, youth and their families. Together we dream big. Together we champion a world of possibility.