Charitable Impact Spotlights Canadians Taking Action on Youth Mental Health

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 22, 2025) - As Mental Health Month brings national attention to the growing youth mental health crisis, everyday Canadians are finding ways to support, not as experts or institutions, but as individuals. Some are launching grassroots efforts in response to tragedy. Others are quietly giving what they can, month by month. What ties them together is a desire to help, and access to tools that make it easier to take action.

According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), suicide is now the second leading cause of death among Canadians aged 15-24, and the third for children aged 10-14. Yet mental health services across the country remain underfunded and overstretched. For many Canadians, the question isn't whether to help, it's how.

"Lots of people say they want to help, but they often get stuck at the starting line," says John Bromley, Founder and CEO of Charitable Impact, a donor-advised fund. "That's why we built a platform that helps donors manage their giving in a way that's simple, personal, and effective."

Real stories of action and impact

In Vancouver, local leaders created the Lapu Lapu Mental Health Fund to provide free one-on-one counselling for families impacted by a recent public tragedy at the Lapu Lapu Day Festival. The fund was launched through a Giving Group, an easy-to-use, customizable fundraising page that anyone can set up at no cost. "In those first heartbreaking moments, we needed a trusted space where caring individuals and donors could come together in solidarity," says Tegan Moss, President of The Kelty Foundation. "The giving group made it easy for the community to come together and ensure every dollar helped the families who needed it most."

Elsewhere, musician and mental health advocate Robb Nash launched the Operation Overcome Cause Fund, championed by his charity, The Robb Nash Project and The Kelty Foundation. Believing that many potential donors know they care about youth mental health but don't know which charities to support, this provided a solution. As a leader in the space, Robb and his co-Cause Leaders, with the support of a team of experts ensure the funds are strategically distributed to high-impact charities. Operation Overcome also wants to promote collaboration: "When we break down barriers and help charities work together, collectively and collaboratively, we can overcome limits to youth mental wellness," the organizers explain on their fund page.

To others like Zil E Huma Khan, giving is more private. She sets up a recurring deposit into her personal Charitable Impact account, quietly distributing funds to mental health charities she is familiar with. "Everyone deserves the resources and support to live well and be empowered," Khan says. That belief fuels her commitment to mental health and education, and why she chooses to give in a way that fits her life.

One Platform, Many Ways to Give

These stories don't follow a single playbook, but they reflect a common thread: Canadians acting on what they care about in ways that feel right for them. "Our platform, a donor-advised fund open to everyone, exists to support generosity in all its forms," said Bromley. "Whether someone's rallying their community, supporting multiple charities quietly from their own account, the platform adapts to how they want to give and makes it easier to take action and track it over time."

For some, like the Lapu Lapu Fund organizers, that means starting a Giving Group to rally community support around a shared trauma. For others, like Robb Nash, a Cause Fund provides a way to make it easier for donors to give confidently on a focused causal level. And for donors who already know where they want their money to go, the same platform offers them a way to manage all their giving from one place, regardless of which charities they choose to support, when or why.

During Mental Health Month, and beyond, these stories offer a reminder that change starts when individuals choose to act.

Explore more stories like these, or start your own at charitableimpact.com.

About Charitable Impact

Charitable Impact is a modern giving platform that helps Canadians engage more personally and intentionally with charitable giving. Operating as a donor-advised fund, it offers flexible tools and support for people to plan their giving, support the causes that matter to them, and collaborate with others to grow their collective impact. Whether giving individually or through communities, users can explore, organize, and amplify their generosity-all in one place.

Since 2011, more than 210,000 people have given through Charitable Impact, donating over $1.5 billion to more than 14,800 registered charities across Canada. Charitable Impact is built on the belief that giving should be accessible, personal, and meaningful-empowering anyone to create the change they want to see in the world.

Learn more at https://charitableimpact.com.

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