As we boldly launch into a new school year, I thought it important to post a recap of our first year (as well as a glimpse at what to expect in the new year) for our all our stakeholders, donors, and wider community. The 2015/16 school year, our first...
THERE IS GOOD IN PEOPLE, despite what we're seeing through today's media/political lens. We're not all afraid of our neighbours; we do have compassion for fellow human beings. And it seems that now - more than ever - we need to re-connect with this concept and remind...
"Amazon Contributes to Stigma Surrounding Mental Health" It’s the opposite headline from that which we would expect to be seeing about a large corporation today; with so many organizations like Bell Canada going out of their way to help reduce the stigma...
On the occasion of his 8th birthday, young Lucas continued his annual "give back" effort. This year, he asked his family and friends to donate money to the Yellow Is For Hello mental health awareness campaign so that more Friendship Benches and their associated...
The Lucas Fiorella Friendship Bench unveiled its iconic yellow bench and #YellowIsForHello student mental health campaign at Niagara College this week, which makes it the first of its kind dedicated to a Canadian college. This is the third such unveiling...
Yesterday was an important milestone for The Friendship Bench, as the first benches were unveiled in Ottawa, Ontario. We chose Carleton University as the location for the inaugural unveiling for a number of reasons. First, it was the university Lucas Fiorella, the...
We’re thrilled to announce that after just two days, The Friendship Bench has reached its first milestone of $10,000 in donations! We wish to thank everyone who helped achieve this goal by sharing information about the program and donating to the cause. The...
The Friendship Bench was inspired by my son, Lucas Fiorella. On October 12, 2014, while in his second year of university, Lucas took his own life. The news was a complete shock to our family and friends. Lucas did not show signs of what we would consider “clinical...