On June 19th, guests joined the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia team at our office in the Mount Hope Building of the Nova Scotia Hospital for an open house. We opened our doors to greet community members, share our stories, and showcase our new colourful space – featuring our blue and green logo hues.
Guests were taken on a historic tour of the Nova Scotia Hospital Site and its underground tunnels.
The Annual General Meeting took place on site at the Hugh Bell Health Sciences Library. Over 40 attendees were treated to 15 year old Rachel Long’s beautiful performance of her song ‘Finding the Sun'. Guest Speaker, Annapolis Valley Community Support Worker, Allyson Higgins reflected on Meriden’s Family Works and Family Matters programs and their impact on her work in mental health. Meriden programme training is proudly supported by the Foundation’s Pathways to Hope legacy fund.
We were honoured to present vision awards to the following individuals:
Outstanding Volunteer: Lori Buhlman
Lori is a photographer who has gone above and beyond to help the Foundation capture our most important moments – donating a brand new camera to our team, and volunteering late hours to capture beautiful shots of our events and campaigns.
Outstanding Volunteers: Nova Scotia RCMP Veterans’ Association
If you attended our Festival of Trees Luncheon last year you know all about the great work these RCMP Veterans perform. We are grateful for their contributions as public officers and protectors, and we thank them for our service to our country, and now, to mental health in our province. We’re thrilled to welcome members of this outstanding team back to both Luncheon and Gala as Hosts this year!
Partners in our Vision: CTV Atlantic
CTV Atlantic has helped the Foundation reach out to viewers in Nova Scotia and beyond with educational information, event details, and success stories. We’ve been fortunate to have stories featured on CTV Morning Live, and the CTV News at 5, and to be the face of the newly established Mental Health Minute. But airtime isn’t all CTV has given us. Festival of Trees and Inspiring Lives were both hosted by CTV Atlantic personalities. We’re very grateful for CTV Atlantic’s generous contributions of resources and talent!
Partners in our Vision: Premiere Executive Suites
Suzanne Bachur is the driving force behind the Mental Health Above All campaign. Her team at Premiere Executive Suites has enthusiastically joined on with creativity and passion. Thanks to Premiere, ceilings in workplaces across the province are looking a little brighter. Ceiling tiles painted by local artists and gifted to corporate clients through Mental Health Above All encourage staff and office visitors to look up and make mental health a priority in their professional work spaces.
Outstanding Achievement: Bea Pelley & Friends
On November 23rd, 2013 we witnessed a magical moment at the Compass Group Canada Festival of Trees. One special creation in the RBC Forest of Trees was attracting a lot of attention. The white, dragonfly-themed tree was created by Bea Pelley and friends in honour of Heather Otto, a past Foundation supporter who passed away in February 2013. At Friday’s Luncheon, Heather’s daughter Kristen placed a bid of $125 on the tree- the total of all her savings. At the Black Tie Gala the following evening, two parties began a bidding war on the tree. When the silent auction closed, the final two bids stood at 10,000 and 11,000 dollars. Then, the two parties came together and combined their bids – donating 21-thousand dollars to the Foundation, while ensuring the tree was delivered to Kristen Otto. This magical moment will live on as one of the brightest and most beautiful in Festival history. Thank you, Bea, for making it possible.
The Business of the Meeting was carried out by retiring Board Chair, Martin Singh.
Martin leaves the Foundation after seven years of dedicated service. We are thankful for his time, and also happy to announce our new Chair, Nick Peters. Nick has most recently served as Treasurer. He has been a Board Member for four years. Kiki Kachafanas is now taking on the role of Treasurer.
We would like to extend our deep gratitude to retiring Board Members Harvey Gilmour (six years of service) and Danny Chedrawe (ten years served - including two as Chair and one as Past Chair).
Tim Daley, a lawyer with Goodman MacDonald in New Glasgow, has been appointed as our newest Board Member.
Thank you to all who attended our Open House and AGM. We look forward to sharing more successes with you throughout the 2014-15 year. Please download your copy of our annual report here to learn more about the work we do. You make it possible!