November 30, 2004
Canadian Mental Health Association launches www.givehope.ca as gift-giving alternative
VANCOUVER – Can’t find the perfect gift for the person who has everything? Give hope instead. Debating what cheesy gift to buy the party host, the neighbours, the postman and the guy who does your hair? Give hope instead.
The Canadian Mental Health Association in BC is asking British Columbians to make a safe secure web donation instead of a gift. Give people with mental illness what they need most – hope. For every $15 donated on our new www.givehope.ca site, a donor will receive two ‘Gift of Hope’ cards they can give in lieu of a gift. The gift cards are perfect replacements for the obligatory bottle of wine or box of chocolates at your holiday function and make for great under-the-tree gifts as well. Simply go online to www.givehope.ca and fill out the safe, secure web form, and your holiday gift-giving is done. Your gift cards are mailed the next business day.
The need for funds is acute. 1 in 5 British Columbians will suffer from mental illness in their lifetime. Nearly all will witness a friend or loved one deal with depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or dozens of other treatable, manageable disorders. CMHA brings hope and service to people and families dealing with these illnesses. With the public’s support, CMHA runs scores of programs province-wide that help people re-integrate into the community after recovery, educate the public, provide housing, work and leisure opportunities and do countless other services. Without this support, CMHA would not even exist, and a lot of these things would not happen.
The givehope.ca website is more than just a donation page. The site allows users to challenge friends, family and co-workers to match or beat their donation. It also includes tips for reducing holiday stress, invites users to test their own stress, offers meaningful alternatives to gift giving, and offers posters that people can put up in their workplace or in other public areas.
“It really is a great way to encourage everyone to remember the real spirit of the holidays – giving!” says Jean Moore, Acting Executive Director of CMHA BC Division, “People can give from the serenity of their own home and not put up with holiday crowds, while at the same time give a gift that will really make a difference.”
“This is certainly a better gift than a tie that will sit at the back of your closet for years to come, or a box of chocolates which really only adds to your waistline,” said Jonathan Oldman of CMHA Vancouver-Burnaby.
Volunteers will be posting givehope.ca campaign posters on bulletin boards in communities across BC, and will be visiting major public shopping thoroughfares handing out special givehope.ca cards inviting holiday shoppers to make a donation rather than buy yet another widget.
The authors of Unplug The Christmas Machine list the hidden rules which trap us into a gift-giving culture:
- Give a gift to everyone you expect to get one from.
- If someone gives you a gift unexpectedly, reciprocate as soon as possible. Perhaps even have generic gifts on hand just in case.
- The amount of money you spend on a gift determines how much you care about that person.
- Gifts exchanged between adults must be roughly equal in value.
- The presents you give someone should be fairly consistent in value over the years.
- Women should give gifts to their close women friends.
- Men should not give gifts to their male friends - unless those gifts are alcoholic beverages.
- Whenever you feel awkward about breaking one of these rules, remedy the situation by buying more gifts.
How many of these traps do you fall into every year? Change that. This year, Give Hope.
CMHA is Canada’s oldest mental health charity, with over 50 years of service to British Columbians. CMHA BC is part of a national network that provides service at the local, provincial, and national level.
Provincial Media Contact:
Mykle Ludvigsen
Public Education and Communications Officer, CMHA BC Division
604.688.3234 | 1.800.555.8222
