Submitted by the Muskoka Community Foundation
On January 20, Lynn DeCaro, executive director of the Muskoka Community Foundation, presented James Hunt, director of The Door Youth Centre in Huntsville, with a cheque for $7,000 to support the organization’s weekly lunch program. This is the first grant from the Muskoka Youth Mental Health and Wellness Fund at the Muskoka Community Foundation.
The grant will help The Door to sustain its lunch program that serves more than 80 lunches twice a week.
Hunt commented on how important the program is for youth in Huntsville. “We’re very happy to know that we can now continue to offer this important program throughout 2020. Beyond the obvious benefits of providing food to hungry students, our lunch program also serves to build a strong sense of community in the youth of Huntsville. Much research in the field of mental health points towards ‘social connectedness’ as being a primary factor in building and maintaining good mental health (much like exercise leads to good physical health).”
DeCaro wanted to thank everyone who has helped support the Fund. “It is because of everyone who made a donation to the Muskoka Youth Mental Health and Wellness Fund that we are able to support the lunch program at The Door. A big thank you to Elizabeth Booth who organized the Laquan Fundraiser, to all of those who attended the event, the special donor who matched the dollars Elizabeth raised, and to others in the community who have contributed over the last year. These programs are important to help youth in our community feel connected.”
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So true!
Betty, you are too kind! Thank you for your longtime support of our work with the youth of Muskoka – it is thanks to people like you that we are able to continue doing what we do.
James
Thank you MCF for your very generous donation, and thank you James and Rachel for your tireless effort in working with the youth of Muskoka. The Fultons have been supporters of James work since hearing him speak at a Seniors’ luncheon at Faith Baptist likely 8 or 10 years ago. I know Rachel through her volunteering at the luncheon and through her work at Pharmasave, both terrific young people. James my yearly donation of $1000 will be in the mail in the next few weeks. Even though I no longer live in Huntsville, its young people will always remain a priority. Thank you again for your work on their behalf! Blessing, Betty.
Thank you so much to the MCF for this generous donation. And just an extra comment from one with a chronic mental health disability: Physical exercise is ALSO terrific for one’s mental health. It releases endorphins, which produce a general feeling of well-being; a “natural high”.