Fête Chinoise Love at Mid-Autumn Campaign presented by HSBC raised over $40,000 to benefit mental health services at Markham Stouffville Hospital (MSH).
“The Fête Chinoise Love at Mid-Autumn Campaign was designed to help raise funds and awareness for mental health,” says Deborah Lau-Yu, Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Fête Chinoise. “Especially in the Chinese community, this subject matter has been swept under the rug or seen as taboo in the past, so this is a refreshing way to spread the love, and pair together a vibrantly designed campaign with this important cause at such a critical time.”
In celebration of this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, Fête Chinoise collaborated with Saint Germain Bakery to launch the LOVE at Mid-Autumn Charity Campaign. Customers were encouraged to purchase a beautifully crafted tin, inspired by Cha Chaan Teng’s of Hong Kong with a hint of Deco style from the Peace Hotel in Shanghai.
Inside, each tin contained four heart-shaped mooncakes designed and baked in Canada. The community was also invited to make cash donations of $100 to be entered into a draw for an Air Canada signature suite (business class) ticket. Proceeds from the mooncake sales and 100 per cent of cash donations will benefit the mental health programs at MSH.
Funds raised will support the MSH Wellness Clinic located at 27 Wooten Way North. Demand for mental health programs and services at MSH continues to rise, growing by 12-16 per cent every year, with the Outpatient Mental Health (OPMH) Services just experiencing one of its busiest years ever with 35,319 visits. At the MSH Wellness Clinic, the adult day treatment team revamped the BRIDGE programming to a ‘coping with COVID-19’ theme and continues to offer daily virtual care for up to 450 patient visits per month – running three group sessions per day, including virtual yoga and virtual mindfulness sessions – as well as one-on-one phone support whenever needed. The team also launched a seniors’ specific program running four afternoons a week to help combat the social isolation seniors are feeling due to the pandemic.
“The long-term plan for therapeutic services at the hospital always included an offsite clinic to improve access to mental health care,” said Suzette Strong, CEO, MSH Foundation. “And thanks to the generous support from donors and sponsors, the hospital is able to continue to provide a holistic approach to care, with the traditional therapy model significantly enhanced by the opportunity to activate patients from a physical, spiritual and psychological approach, even during a global pandemic.”
Government can’t fund all equipment and other priority needs. MSH must rely on community support to drive innovation and enable growth. Fête Chinoise’s continued support ensures that our growing community can continue to receive the excellent patient care it relies on, today and into the future.
The Fête Chinoise committee along with representatives from its major sponsors recently held a cheque presentation, draw for the Air Canada flight ticket and tour of the MSH wellness clinic space.
Photo: Markham Stouffville Hospital’s Cheryl Osborne, Teresa Givelas and Allan Bell were on site for the recent cheque presentation from the Fête Chinoise committee and its sponsors.
