After spending months at home during quarantine, what better time to set a fitness goal, start training, and help bring an important mental health service to Ottawa for people with epilepsy and depression?
About 1 in 3 adults with epilepsy also struggle with depression. UPLIFT is a program that combines cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness training for adults with epilepsy and depression. Research shows that UPLIFT reduces depression and improves psychological quality of life long after participants finish the program.
Our Go The Distance fitness challenge fundraiser will help bring UPLIFT to Eastern Ontario. Designed as a distance delivery program, with groups meeting by phone, it will be easier than ever for clients from across our service area to participate and benefit. Epilepsy Ottawa will be able to provide this program for clients as far west as the furthest reaches of Renfrew County or as far East as Prescott & Russell, and Stormont, Dundas, & Glengarry Counties.
Let’s train together to motivate each other to go the distance.
Staying active is important for physical and mental health, even in the best of times. It’s particularly important when we’re all spending so much time at home and living with a lot of uncertainty. Without the daily and weekly rhythms and structured time that we’re used to, it can be hard to stay motivated. By training together while we’re apart and sharing our training stories, we can motivate each other.
Support one of these teams or start your own fitness challenge:
Expand Team Epilepsy SectionTeam Epilepsy
Epilepsy Ottawa Executive Director Nikki Porter, Board President Peter Andrews, and Board member Laura Johnstone along with her son Adrian are working together to raise $2,000.
- Nikki Porter will walk 10k in under 2 hours. It’s farther and faster than she’s walked at one time before.
- Laura and Adrian are walking a 3.5 km trail 7 days a week throughout the summer.
- Peter Andrews will run 10k.
Expand Team Reggler SectionTeam Reggler
Sandi Reggler, her husband Dave, and their 3 children, Jaedan, Eliza, and Haizel set a goal to raise $500 and walk the entirety of the Poets’ Pathway as their fitness challenge. Poets’ Pathway is a 35 KM collection of 12 different footpaths across Ottawa meant to conserve green spaces and celebrate famous 19th-century Canadian poets. The poets are often considered Canadian poetry’s version of The Group of Seven painters. The paths begin in Brittania Beach and end in Beechwood Cemetery. Each footpath commemorates a poet with a plaque of one of their prominent writings. Along with the plaque, there is a phone number that visitors can call to listen to a famous Canadian reciting it.
Expand Shaun Kehoe's Go the Distance Challenge SectionShaun Kehoe's Go the Distance Challenge
Shaun Kehoe will run 5k in 30 minutes. His goal is to raise $1,000.
Expand uOttawa Epilepsy Society 5K challenge SectionuOttawa Epilepsy Society 5K challenge
The executive team and members of the uOttawa Epilepsy Society set a goal of running 5 km in 1 hour and raising $500.
Anyone who wishes to join her can choose a goal based on their own fitness, comfort levels, and resources at home. Whether your goal is tied to walking, running, lifting weights, doing yoga, or another physical activity, let’s train together.
Here’s how you can get involved:
Launch your own fundraising challenge
1. Set a goal.
2. Set up a fundraising page.
3. Fundraise as you train to reach your goal.
Tips
- Share your story. Why are you supporting Epilepsy Ottawa?
- Share your training progress on social media
- Use the hashtags #TogetherWeCan #GoTheDistance
4. Share your training progress with us and we can share it on our blog.
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ONCE YOU SET UP YOUR FUNDRAISING PAGE AND START TRAINING:
Share your training stories with us and we’ll share them with the community.
You can check out Nikki’s training diary here.