- $1 million donation will enable
Rise to engage even more Canadians with mental health and addiction
challenges in entrepreneurship training, mentorship &
lending
- Rise's largest ever corporate gift is also supporting the
organization's expansion into Manitoba with the launch of Rise Winnipeg
TORONTO, May 4, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - Rise, which
provides individuals experiencing mental health and addiction
challenges with access to low-interest loans to help launch new
businesses, today announced a five-year, $1
million gift from Bell Let's Talk to build more local small
businesses and empower Canadians affected by mental illness and
addictions towards greater social and economic well-being.
"On behalf of everyone at Rise, I want to thank Bell Let's Talk
for this generous gift," said Rise CEO, Lori Smith. "This is the largest corporate
donation in Rise's 11-year history, and I cannot overstate the
impact it will have in Canadians' lives. Bell's leadership in the
mental health space is helping to combat stigma and grow access to
care, and it's with Bell's loyal support that Rise can strengthen
our mission to help individuals with mental health and addiction
challenges become empowered through entrepreneurship."
Bell's gift will enhance Rise's ability to recruit and engage
new clients, enabling it to reach more Canadians with programs that
help eliminate barriers to employment through entrepreneurship
workshops, training and mentorship, and builds on Bell's earlier
support for Rise programs. A portion of the donation will also be
invested in the Rise Loan Fund to help launch more than 300 new
small businesses over the next five years and enhance the
organization's sustainable source of lending capital.
"Bell Let's Talk is proud to empower even more Canadians to
build new futures as entrepreneurs and small business
owners as we extend our long-standing commitment to the great
work of the Rise team," said Mary
Deacon, Chair of Bell Let's Talk. "By helping entrepreneurs
with mental health and addiction challenges become self-employed
through building small businesses, Rise enables them to create a
better tomorrow for themselves and their families, while also
strengthening the social fabric of our communities."
Rise expands into Manitoba
Rise and Bell Let's Talk
announced the enhanced partnership during the Let's #GetReal
About Mental Health & Entrepreneurship Online event for
Rise clients to mark Mental Health Week. The event also served as
the official launch of Rise Winnipeg, which will provide Manitobans
with access to the Rise Small Business Lending Program and
other training workshops and programs in partnership with the
Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Manitoba and Winnipeg.
Rise's expansion into Manitoba
in partnership with CMHA has also been made possible through Bell's
new donation. Manitoba represents
the 5th province where Rise has a physical presence (including
Alberta, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Ontario), and as the organization continues to
adapt its programs and wrap-around supports to online platforms, it
aims to scale its digital reach to all regions of the country.
During COVID-19, Rise has transitioned all of its programs to
virtual platforms, enabling entrepreneurship training, mentorship
and custom supports from coast to coast to coast. While COVID-19
presents enormous hurdles to overcome, there is tremendous
opportunity for Canadians with mental health and addiction
challenges to make significant contributions to our collective
recovery through entrepreneurship.
"CMHA data shows that 40 percent of Canadians reported a decline
in their mental health due to the COVID-19 crisis," said Ms. Smith.
"Rise is uniquely positioned to not only support entrepreneurs'
mental health needs, but also empower more Canadians to become
self-employed or small businesses owners, which will be critical to
our collective recovery from COVID-19, and the future health of our
economy."
People with a mental illness face the highest degree of
stigmatization in the workplace and the greatest barriers to
employment. Of Rise clients, 69% report increased personal
confidence as a result of their involvement with Rise, and 71% feel
that they are playing a useful part in society. In its 2020
fiscal year, Rise disbursed 80 low-interest loans to help launch
and support small businesses across Canada. For more information,
please see Rise's 2020 Impact Report.
About Bell Let's Talk
The largest-ever corporate
commitment to mental health in Canada, Bell Let's Talk is focused on 4 key
action pillars: Anti-stigma, Care and Access, Research and
Workplace Leadership. Since its launch in September 2010, Bell Let's Talk has partnered
with more than 1,100 organizations providing mental health supports
and services throughout Canada, including hospitals, universities,
local community service providers and other care and research
organizations. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.
About Rise
Rise is a national organization dedicated
to empowering people with mental health and addiction challenges to
achieve greater social and economic inclusion through
entrepreneurship. Through training, mentorship, micro-financing and
other customs supports, Rise helps individuals build the skills and
access the capital they need to launch a small business that can
improve quality of life and enable them to support themselves,
their families and communities.
Since its founding in 2010, Rise has benefitted from the time
and talent of 800+ volunteers, disbursed more than $2 million in low-interest loans and established
training and mentorship programs that have helped to launch 1,000+
dreams across Canada. Rise collaborates with local partners to
recruit for and deliver programs, enriching partners' existing
services and enabling Rise to scale rapidly without traditional
bricks and mortar investment. Today, Rise works in 9 locations
across five provinces (Alberta,
British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova
Scotia and Ontario).
Rise is changing lives and strengthening communities by
unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit of all Canadians with mental
health and addiction challenges. Learn more about Rise at
www.risehelps.ca or @RiseHelps.
Media inquiries:
Kyla Pearson
Rise
416-949-3301
kpearson@risehelps.ca
@RiseHelps
Jacqueline Michelis
Bell
613-785-1427
jacqueline.michelis@bell.ca
@Bell_LetsTalk
@Bell_News
SOURCE Bell Canada