When Vince's Market decided to organize a team to participate in the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), York Region and South Simcoe, annual Mental Health In Motion fundraising event they initially set a $1,000 goal but market president Giancarlo Trimarchi managed to raise $7,000 in a single day.
Normally we're doing the giving, said Trimarchi, but when he asked friends, family, suppliers and community members to donate he was "blown away with how generous everybody's been so far."
Sparked by the excitement over his fundraising success, more and more are signing up every day to become team members said Trimarchi.
"It's really kind of inspiring, it's really nice."
A new $10,000 goal has been set and Trimarchi is confident that the new goal will be met and exceeded.
"I always like to understate and over-deliver," he said.
The event coincides with a CMHA partnership that began earlier in the year when the market chose CMHA's Mobile Youth Walk-In Clinic program — a bus that delivers free services to youth aged 12 to 25 — as its 2022 Community Product Initiative recipient.
Each year, 15 per cent of the proceeds from the sale of certain in-store products is donated to a charitable organization and mental health issues is a cause that resonates with the supermarket chain and the family that operates it.
The organization has been touched by mental health issues, both during and prior to the pandemic, as has his own family, Trimarchi said.
"We see the need in the community, we see the need for resources that are quick to access for young people and so that's really at the heart of it. We love what they're doing and we think what they're doing is so important right now."
The June 12 in-person event will start and end at Ray Twinney Recreational Centre 100 Eagle St. W. and registrants have the option to participate virtually.
For information about the event, fees or to donate visit the Mental Health in Motion website.
Founded in 1918, the CMHA is the most established, most extensive community mental health organization in Canada with 330 community locations.
Vince's Market is an Independent Grocer with stores located in Sharon, Newmarket, Uxbridge, and Tottenham, Ontario.
