Support for groups and projects that make an impact is a way for the University of Windsor Alumni Association to add value to the lives of students, grads, and the broader community, says Rob Janisse.

Co-ordinator of special projects for the alumni office, he points to this weekend’s “Ride Don’t Hide” for the Windsor-Essex branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association as an example.

“The Alumni Association’s Communications and Engagement Committee provides over $60,000 in funding each year to more than 50 on- and off-campus groups, supporting initiatives that make tangible impacts here on campus, in our local communities, and beyond,” Janisse says. “We are proud to support impactful community groups and initiatives like CMHA’s Ride Don’t Hide.”

Ride Don’t Hide involves bicyclists across the country in raising funds for community mental health. Locally, it will send teams of riders on a choice of routes: around the track at the Ciociaro Club, along the Greenway, or on a 100-km loop through the county.

Now in its 11th year, it supports several services:

• the Bereavement Program, which helps adults and children cope with loss by providing supportive grief counselling, group peer support, and education to teach healthy coping strategies;
• the Client Assistance Fund, which provides short-term financial assistance to clients for grocery gift cards, transportation to appointments or job interviews, and other daily living expenses; and
• mental health promotion, which extends education and training to workplaces, schools, community agencies, and the general public.

The event is set for Sunday, June 23. Find more information, including how to register as a team or individual participant and how to donate, on the CMHA website.