Sarnia ON, Sept. 13, 2022 –On Tuesday, Shell’s Sarnia Manufacturing Centre (SMC) celebrated the completion of their 2022 Turnaround with employees, contractors, and local youth mental health advocates with a donation of $116,000 to support the Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario Sarnia Lambton (YWHO Sarnia Lambton) site (formerly known as ACCESS Open Minds), currently under construction.
“For this year’s Turnaround – the largest in our 70-year history – we set a Goal Zero target for personal safety, meaning zero days of injury,” explained Pauline Buitink, Shell Manufacturing Centre’s General Manager. “And so, as an added incentive to our team, we committed to a $1000 dollar donation for every ‘Goal Zero’ day during the Turnaround to raise hope for youth mental health services in Sarnia Lambton.”
Since 2018, representatives from CMHA Lambton Kent, St Clair Child & Youth Services, Bluewater Health, The Bluewater Health Foundation and Spoken Hope have invested significant time and resources to establish YWHO Sarnia Lambton. As a result of the incredible response through partnerships and donations, it is anticipated that the Sarnia Lambton site will be a premier youth mental health site in the province when it opens in early 2023.
Pleased to be on-hand for the celebration, YWHO’s Spoken Hope Youth Advisory Council Co-Chairs, Janessa Labadie and Maura Cook expressed their appreciation to the Shell Team. “When Shell reached out to us early this year to discuss Goal-Zero, we were excited, and today’s announcement far exceeds our hopes. To have the whole team at Shell come together in support of this initiative really speaks to their understanding of our mental health needs as young people.”
SMC’s GM went on to say, “A community investment in youth mental health really resonated with our teams, reinforcing the importance of mental health for ourselves, our friends, and family. Indeed, many of our people had a real connection with the cause and had personal stories to support the need in the community. We are really pleased to be able to make this donation.”
“Over these last months working with Shell,” reflects Alan Stevenson, CEO, CMHA Lambton Kent, “I have come to realize that in addition to Shell’s tremendous gift to YWHO Sarnia Lambton, they have embedded discussions and information about mental health and addictions into their work culture. We are sincerely grateful to the team at Shell for both their investment in youth mental health and their leadership as a partner in addressing the mental health needs of their teams and community.”
The donation will support capital costs related to the construction and infrastructure of the site.
About Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario
Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario (YWHO) is a network of 22 local hubs that provide integrated services co-designed with youth for youth in communities across the province. Originally funded through philanthropy and by the Ontario government in 2017, YWHO was established to address gaps in the youth mental health system by providing fully integrated services for youth aged 12-25, addressing needs related to mental health, substance use, primary care, education, employment, housing, peer support, outreach, system navigation, and other community and social programming. Through a commitment to rapid and low-barrier access, early and evidence-based interventions, equitable and culturally effective services, and youth collaboration, YWHO is taking a critical step forward to improve Ontario’s youth mental health system.
| Media contacts: | |
| Andria Appeldoorn
Director, Fund Development and Communications YWHO Sarnia Lambton / CMHA Lambton Kent 519-337-5411 ext. 3230 |
Olwen Gover
Corporate Relations Advisor Shell Sarnia Manufacturing Centre 519-481-4311 |