Clara’s big ride in Cranbrook

Retired Olympian Clara Hughes is using her celebrity status to erase the stigma attached to mental illness

1 of 6Six time Olympic medalist Clara Hughes addressed volunteers and business community members in Cranbrook, B.C., during her ride to promote understanding of mental illness. — Marie Milner photo

2 of 6(L to R) Mary Quinn, John Zimmer, Peter Johnson and Kevin Weaver of the Canadian Mental Health Association Kootenays with Olympian Clara Hughes, in Cranbrook, B.C. — Marie Milner photo

3 of 6Jelena Jensen was named 2014 Youth Volunteer of the Year. — Marie Milner photo

4 of 6The Farquhar family was named Cranbrook's 2014 Volunteer Family of the Year. — Marie Milner photo

5 of 6Volunteer Group of the Year for 2014 is the Kimberley Arts Council. — Marie Milner photo

6 of 6Shirley Yurchyshyn, Cranbrook's 2014 Individual Volunteer of the Year, spent the morning after the awards gala doing her usual shift at the Cranbrook Food Bank. — Marie Milner photo

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Many times during her years as an athlete and six-time Olympic medalist, Clara Hughes asked herself if there was any real meaning to skating in circles and trying to ride her bike faster than anyone else. After her retirement from sport in 2012, she found an answer that allows her to satisfy her deep desire to give of herself.

Hughes was the keynote speaker at the 9th Annual Volunteer Appreciation & Awards Gala in Cranbrook, B.C., held at the St. Eugene Golf Resort on May 27 and sponsored by the Canadian Mental Health Association - Kootenays. She spoke of the joy of competition, of earning awards for Canada and expressing herself on the ice and on her bike. She spoke also of the personal and family history of mental illness that exists behind her famous smile.

At the time of the winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010, Hughes revealed that she had struggled with depression as a young athlete and continues to live with the illness. She became the volunteer spokesperson for Bell Canada in their multi-year “Let’s Talk” campaign, encouraging education and acceptance of mental illness as part of the human condition. Once the first campaign was over, however, Hughes decided to do more—to use her celebrity to support this cause.

Hughes is more than halfway through a 110-day, 12,000 kilometre, Canadian coast-to-coast-to-coast bike ride, working to eradicate the stigma of mental illness. She is addressing groups in almost 250 communities, specifically including school-age youth, hoping that with education and transparency, acceptance will follow.

Hughes spoke strongly about the value of volunteerism. She said that the work of education, of advocacy, of reducing and eliminating the stigma of mental illness, is happening primarily through volunteerism because our government has yet to come on board in the way it should.

“Change can happen,” said Hughes. “Change is happening. We have a long way to go, but you have to start somewhere, and why not here, why not now, and why not with me?”

After Hughes’ address, volunteering excellence awards were presented by sponsoring businesses to three individuals and one group:

Jelena Jensen, Youth Volunteer of the Year; award sponsor: Columbia Basin Trust
Kimberley Arts Council, Volunteer Group of the Year; award sponsor: Cranbrook Dodge
The Farquhar family, Volunteer Family of the Year; award sponsor: MediChair Cranbrook
Shirley Yurchyshyn, Volunteer of the Year; award sponsor: Investors Group