Help ‘create a better community’ for women’s mental health | Ottawa Business Journal

Jill Skinner, chair of the Royal Ottawa Foundation’s fundraising committee for the LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart™ Run for Women 2022, is ironically not a runner. Despite her years of service to the event, whose goal is to raise money and awareness for women’s mental health and programming at The Royal, she has never taken great pleasure in the act of running for the simple fact of running

For her, the spirit of Run for Women comes not just from the physical act, but from the conversations about mental health that it inspires.

One of his most poignant memories of this dates back to his days as a deputy chief of police in the Ottawa Police Service. She was invited to the Elizabeth Wyn Wood Alternative School for Young Women and, thinking she was there as a speaker, she came dressed in her full uniform. When she arrived, she learned that she was going to participate in a run for women’s mental health in 35-degree weather. However, she stood her ground and joined the students.

“When we got back to school, the conversations that we were able to have as a result of that physical event, that was really why we were there: to talk about mental wellness,” Skinner said, smiling. “Hearing those girls talk about their good days and bad days, the tools they use now to address their own mental well-being, really made me realize that I needed to get more involved, and that was really one of the precursors for me. really commit to the race.”

Making a difference in the community

As chair of the 2022 fundraising committee, Skinner hopes those conversations will continue.

2022 LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart™ Run for Women is looking to raise more than $500,000 through a hybrid event to help The Royal close gender gaps in mental health, using the funds to expand access to gender-specific mental health care and research for women in Ottawa .

Much of this funding will go to support women in the capital region with diverse needs that are unrecognized, underserved, and have specialized mental health needs for which traditional mental health services ( and often male-centric) just wouldn’t work.

“I’ve been involved with law enforcement for 37 years, and one of the biggest things the police deal with is mental health, both externally and internally,” Skinner said. “As women, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be everything, to be good wives, mothers and employees, to be some kind of ‘super women.’

“We need events (like Run for Women) to have these kinds of conversations so that people understand that this is not necessary.”

To meet The Royal’s fundraising goal, the LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart™ Run for Women will need to gather at least 6,000 participants by 2022. Organizers are looking for people to take on roles as team captains to encourage people within their communities to participate, either virtually or in person. Skinner said the committee is especially looking to corporate organizations to help them reach their goal.

“This is a great opportunity for companies to really support their people and show their female employees that they care about their mental well-being, especially when it might have suffered during the pandemic,” she said. “COVID-19 has had a huge impact on our ability to come together, and the connection we can get from an event like this is tremendous.”

Skinner added that the LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart™ Run for Women is a way for companies to communicate with their employees, something they should do “as often as possible,” while engaging in something fun, surrounded by people who are Passionate about an important cause.

“This is a way to create a better community,” he said, “and it really doesn’t get any better than that.”

This year’s LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart™ Run for Women will take place both in person and online. The face-to-face portion of the event will take place on June 5 at LeBreton Flats Park. Be part of this special event by registering your team here.