Wednesday 27 March 2013

massive UPDATE

Hello trusty blog followers,

There sure has been a lot of progress since the last blog! Let me give you the jist of it:
-Bianca Anghel Bachmann is my official riding partner! Kudos to the Holy Trinity student with some serious passion, determination,  skill and kohonos.
-Plans for Tuned Up, a musical fundraising event at the Brig in Port Dover are well under way for Sat April 27. The night begins with us getting warmed-up and heart-felt to the sound of Andy McGuire, then continues to the wee hours as we rock out to local band, Motion Grove. I'm excited to chat and dance the night away with 200 of my/Bianca's closest family, friends and supporters. Doors open and silent auction begins at 7, music starts at 8. Tickets are $20, available from the support crew, myself or by emailing strongfreehappy@gmail.com. Proceeds to support the tour itself in its mission to promote sustainable physical activity as a means for mental health and to raise money for the Canadian Mental Health Association. Thank you to Kelly McNamara for leading the efforts to make this a success!
http://www.andymcguire.ca/andymcguire/andy_mcguire.html
www.motiongrove.com
-Bianca and I attended a conference about the Minding Our Bodies project, hosted by the CMHA, Ontario. My presentation about the tour was well-received and had helped us meet some people interested in helping out along the way. Plans to follow-up this week
-Barber & Veri Inc. has become an official sponsor. They will be looking after the website (coming soon)
-The discovery of OPUS Workspace has made the planning process much more enjoyable! We are working on some big ideas with CEO Larry Stevens. Meeting this weekend to work on a concise course of action. I'm really happy that Larry is taking us under his wing because he is a very passionate, connected and caring person who's invested in the cause and in our safety.
-Uncle Steve (Steve Mummery) is driving the safety vehicle. His early commitment to a couple weeks of driving and his concern about our safety has done wonders for my peace-of-mind. We're still looking for more drivers to confirm with us but at least we know they have a hard-working, thoughtful and responsible leader.
-Thanks Scot Brockbank for helping us with basic bike mechanics. Who knew triceps would be so important when changing a bike tire?!
-Meeting 1 with Scotiabank is complete. :)
-Online and paper donations will be accepted shortly. We appreciate your patience as we get set up.
-Sponsorship packages have been created. Please contact the team at strongfreehappy@gmail.com if you are interested in supporting the tour via a sponsorship.

This is happening. I am thoroughly impressed with how members of the community have stepped up to get the word out about this tour and make it the best it can be. It honestly makes me well up with joy to have that strong support and to know that my simple wish/daydream means so much to so many. The fact that we are banding together against mental illness and for mental health shows that mental health is important to many and that none are alone in their struggle. Accessing mental health through sustainable physical activity is particularly awesome since it'll help with life-threatening co-morbidities.

Keep smiling.

Jess

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