Challenging month…yes, the need to lean in hard on the people in your circle….yes, a burger stacked with smiles….YES! “The Big Smile” Burger of the Month in Red Deer for the month of May was exactly what we all needed, all for a cause more important now than ever, the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation. It included a marinated chicken breast, bacon, sunny fried egg, arugula, tomato, balsamic glaze, and lime avocado aioli on a brioche bun!
We were thrilled to partner up with the Notre Dame High School Grad Service Project, and Grade 12 students Allyne Simonot and Lily Forsyth. The Grad Service Project is an over ten-year school tradition that has raised close to $700,000 for local and global charities. Each year charities are invited to pitch their cause to the grad class and students then vote on one to support. The students break out into teams, partnered with a teacher and parent; this year tasked to raise at least $2021. Smiles Thru Lindsey will be on the receiving end of the grads fundraising efforts for 2021, with the students hoping to raise $40,000.
Smiles Thru Lindsey was founded in 2015 by Rick and Cindy More after their daughter Lindsey tragically took her own life. Rick says his daughter wanted to help her peers who suffered from depression even before they knew Lindsey suffered from it. The More’s hope is to see the endowment fund bring aide to those who suffer for many years to come. To date the community has raised just short of $500,000 for the fund, allowing the foundation to deliver significant grants to 3 local school divisions for the development of programs that will help young students with their mental health. The foundation is also instrumental in the creation of the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Center.
For Allyne and Lily and the other 2021 Notre Dame graduates, they related to Lindsey’s story; she was also a Notre Dame graduate and given the added stress of the pandemic on top of the life changes they are all preparing for, they all agreed mental health initiatives should be a priority now more than ever. Lily shared with us some of the feelings she’s been navigating “this last year of high school, applying for University and scholarships, working to pay for a car and save for school, basically a huge stressful transition into being an adult is daunting enough on a good day, but the Covid-19 pandemic has really taken that to a whole new level. There’s so many more things to stress about than before. I see the effect of that weight on my peers and I feel it on myself”.
Thanks to your support of our beloved Burger of the Month Program Lily and Allyne helped us hand over $874 to the Smiles Thru Lindsay Foundation today. Thanks to the amazing support we see from our guests for our beloved Burger of the Month program month after month, we have had the opportunity to give back over $80,000 to local charities over the past 52 months!
THANK-YOU!
For more information contact:
Rick More
Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation
403.347.4491
Jeff Lerouge
CTS Department Head
Notre Dame High School
403.342.4800 ext. 263225
Jeff.lerouge@rdcrs.ca
Kim Kay
Community Relations
Cilantro and Chive
403.597.2127