Ward off the winter blues with the J9 Sparkle Foundation.
The group will be hosting three events on Nov. 20 to raise awareness for mental health.
鈥淭he days are getting shorter, it鈥檚 getting colder and the holidays are coming up and that can be stressful for some people,鈥� said Lourdes Nunes, one of the foundation鈥檚 members. 鈥淲e鈥檙e getting new staff coming into town and for some it might be their first time away from home so we wanted to reach out to all community members and bring people together and talk about mental health and the different services we have here in town.鈥�
The first event of the day is an expressive writing workshop. Participants will be invited to let out their tensions or trauma through the power of writing. Instructor Janeen Keelan will teach writers the skills to 鈥渨rite through it.鈥�
Following the course, Alisen Charlten will invite participants to express themselves using only their body, with 90 minutes of trauma sensitive yoga. The session will allow participants to explore grounding techniques, mindfulness exercises and different positions that may help new and experienced yoga students better manage the effects of trauma.
This event is open to anyone and attendees are asked to bring their own mat.
鈥淲e wanted to keep it simple, but then Janeen and Alisen came to us and wanted to get involved and we thought their ideas sounded great so it just turned into a whole day of activities,鈥� Nunes said.
As the day turns to evening, Jasperites are invited to enjoy an evening of dining and entertainment with a spaghetti and story time dinner.
鈥淭here鈥檚 just something really neat about sitting down watching someone tell a story. 聽I find it really connects people,鈥� said Nunes, adding that the event will have eight different locals sharing their stories. 鈥淎gain, it鈥檚 another opportunity for the community to get together and make some connections.鈥�
This is the first time the foundation has hosted events in the winter.
鈥淲e really want to see if we can make this an annual thing,鈥� Nunes said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e also trying to spread the word about the foundation and what its goals are and move it forward from just being Jeanine D鈥橝ntonio鈥檚 small group of friends.
鈥淲e want to have a much broader reach and include new people.鈥�
The foundation slowly came to fruition in April of 2014 with the first J9 Sparkle Run in memory of Jeanine D鈥橝ntonio.
D鈥橝ntonio was an active community volunteer and educator known for her unmatched enthusiasm and love for life, but lost her battle with depression on April 16, 2014.
Shortly after D鈥橝ntonio鈥檚 death, her friend Tracy McKay came up with the sparkle run as an opportunity to celebrate D鈥橝ntonio鈥檚 life and capture her contagious spirit of fun鈥攁s well as her love for sparkles and boas.
At first it was just supposed to be for a few of D鈥橝ntonio鈥檚 running partners, but, before long, word had spread and 70 people had shown up, all in off-the-wall get-ups.
In 2015, the event was formalized and more than 200 Jasperites dressed up to run, walk or bike a five-kilometre loop around town, both in memory of D鈥橝ntonio and to raise awareness about the pervasiveness of mental illness and to put an end to the stigma that surrounds it.
The event attracted the same kind of turnout in 2016.
鈥淭he sparkle run started out small and now it鈥檚 a big event that gets recognition around the community. And that鈥檚 awesome, but we don鈥檛 want to just have this conversation once a year,鈥� Nunes said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e trying to do is get the community talking and raise the profile of mental health all year.鈥�
All three of the Nov. 20 events will take place at the Jasper Royal Canadian Legion starting at 10 a.m. Admission to the writing course and yoga is by donation. The spaghetti dinner costs $15 per adult, $10 for youth, and children under the age of five eat for free. Dinner is at 5:30 p.m.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a target financial goal. Our main goal is to keep the momentum of the foundation going all year long,鈥� Nunes said.
Community Outreach Services will also be at the Legion, letting people know of the mental health services it provides.
To register for any of the events or to get involved with the J9 Sparkle Foundation, head to www.j9sparkle.com.
鈥淲e鈥檙e reaching out to the community to join our board and get involved,鈥� Nunes said. 鈥淚 think a lot of people think this is only something for Jeanine鈥檚 friends, but it鈥檚 so much bigger than that.鈥�
Kayla Byrne
[email protected]
