Mental Health in Motion raises nearly $40,000 – and counting – for youth programs

September 24, 2026 · 0 Comments

Residents of York Region and South Simcoe converged in Newmarket on September 13 for the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Mental Health in Motion event, a key fundraiser for local mental health programs for youth.

The fundraiser, which was rebooted in 2026 after a year’s hiatus, saw participants lace up for the cause, with registration fees waived to encourage maximum participation.

More than 250 people took part in the event, with each dollar going towards programs designed to meet York Region and South Simcoe youth where they are at.

This year’s Mental Health in Motion was a first for Andrew Chung, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association of York Region and South Simcoe, who took over the role earlier this year. Going in, he said he didn’t quite know what to expect from the event, but said it was a lot of fun, particularly with such strong community support – including on-site participation from Newmarket-Aurora MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy and Newmarket Mayor John Taylor.

“It was really nice to see local and community leadership who really care about the cause join us for the day,” Chung says. “It’s really important our community has the expert resources where we can meet young people where they are, where we don’t claim to know their experiences, but we want to learn about them so we know how best to guide and support young people who are going through a wide range of challenges. Everybody needs to connect with somebody who can help guide them.”

By press time this week, the 2026 Mental Health in Motion event had raised $36,000 for local programs, but donations and fundraising pledges are still being collected. Anyone looking to help contribute to the final fundraising numbers are invited to do so at cmha-yr.on.ca/cmha-signature-events/mental-health-in-motion-2026 by the end of the month.

“We’ve raised over $36,000 and I think that’s a really great sign and show of support from our community,” says Chung. “When you’re investing a dollar in CMHA’s programs and services, it yields so much more than that. It means a person can find the right services and the right help when they need it. It means it can help them stay in school, help them stay connected to their families, and help equip them with fundamental skills, like self-advocacy, which they can take with them for the rest of their lives. That dollar that’s invested into our young people, for example, can be lifelong and that’s immeasurable. It yields dividends when people commit their funds to the CMHA and it also enables our organization to be able to respond to the greatest areas of need, and that can change over time. Donors and community members who entrust their funds with us really enable us to be able to respond to needs as they change, as quickly as we can.

“When donors provide us with support to look for the greatest areas of need, it also goes to places like our Community Connections programs where we have drop-ins for anyone in the community. We meet them where they are and they can connect with one of our peer support workers or another one of our staff, whether it is just to talk about their day, or maybe they have a form that they need help filling out to access other supports, or maybe they’re looking for housing supports.

“Our drop-in programs, particularly in the Aurora office, have grown so much and we oftentimes hit capacity. We never turn anyone away – we haven’t had to do that yet – but this is really the magic that donors can help create when we’re able to build capacity in programs like Community Connections.”

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter