I am reaching out in regards to the #Engage416 Project. Let me begin by introducing Create for Courage, a partnered initiative between myself Reuben Mendonca and my good friend Marco Vukovic.
Create for Courage is a creative hub committed to raising funds in support of mental health, while seeking engagement from artists of all crafts to produce and share their work.
Art takes on many different forms, and brings meaning to people in a multitude of ways. For many, practicing their craft is therapeutic and gives them peace of mind - especially in recent times of uncertainty and chaos. This is why we’re here. We would like to encourage everyone to get in touch with their creative side! Our campaign will contribute all of its donations to a variety of local charities supporting mental health, while building a diverse community of confident creators.
We strongly believe in the mental health benefits of freedom to expression and creativity. Since the recent launch of our Instagram page, we already have lots of eager artists looking to not only share their work, but contribute to our upcoming fundraisers! As we grow our follower base, we aim to expand our outreach in donations towards our fundraisers.
We have recently partnered up with local charity, Youth Without Shelter for our first fundraiser in support of their mental health fund for homeless youth in Etobicoke. The fundraiser is based around a virtual art exhibition and will run from June 7 to June 28. Artists will have the chance to create and promote their work through our Instagram platform, while collecting donations for YWS through our Canada Helps fundraiser page. At the end of the fundraising period, the artist with the greatest amount of donations contributed on behalf of their work will receive an award and Instagram feature.
We are projecting a second fundraiser in partnership with KIP Canada in the coming months.
Marco and I have spent some time looking into the Engage 416 Project, and are very impressed with the community involvement and social intervention efforts relating to mental health (i.e. counselling). We would love to contribute to Engage 416 in the best way possible, and are eager to learn more about this project! Create for Courage would be honored to collaborate with a reputable police agency as the Toronto Police Service to support this cause.
We currently base our outreach through @createforcourage on our Instagram page where we provide an open platform for artists to share their work through us to freely express themselves.
Best regards,
Reuben Mendonca, Co-Founder at Create for Courage
Marco Vukovic, Co-Founder at Create for Courage