Help Beth raise money

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page! I’ve decided to run the 2024 Toronto marathon for a multitude of reasons; however, greatest to my heart is the desire to mark the life and loss of my dad Ian (February 28, 1954 - May 8, 2014). While he died from complications of CLL (a type of leukemia), I believe his life was so much more than the 10 years he battled cancer. My dad was a runner/marathoner (I have him to thank for my endurance!) but also an educator/mentor to kids with psychosocial and mental health challenges - one of his greatest accomplishments was training a group of those kids to participate in a running event like this. 

To commemorate this effort and passion, I’ve chosen CMHA as my preferred fundraising organization. Cancer will touch the lives of 1 in 5 Canadians in their lifetime; but 1 in 2 will experience some kind of mental health condition before the age of 40. As a family physician, I see how under-resourced our mental health system is and how it fails each and every day to support those who are suffering with mental illness. I can only hope that this small gesture of financial support will move the needle a bit closer to a system that adequately serves the mental health needs of our communities.