In Crisis? Canada and USA Suicide Crisis Hotline - 9-8-8
Friday, June 5th from 4 PM through 8 PM
London International Airport!
A tribute to Kate and all the others we have lost
Welcome!
Be a Fundraiser!
Be a Fundraiser!
In support of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) - Thames Valley Please join us!!
Bring your bicycle or your running shoes to ride, run or walk a 2 KM loop at the runway! How many laps can you complete??
Or join us with your "cool car" for a static car show! All to help support mental health initiatives.
No registration fee to p
In support of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) - Thames Valley Please join us!!
Bring your bicycle or your running shoes to ride, run or walk a 2 KM loop at the runway! How many laps can you complete??
Or join us with your "cool car" for a static car show! All to help support mental health initiatives.
No registration fee to participate! - If however you would like to support the cause, please click the tab to make a donation!
Be a Fundraiser!
Be a Fundraiser!
Be a Fundraiser!
If joining us to ride or walk the runway, please consider showing your support by registering to create your own fundraising page. With your help and with the support of your family, co-workers and friends, we CAN make a difference!
Or just come on by to take it all in! Your participation will ensure we all enjoy a fun family event with s
If joining us to ride or walk the runway, please consider showing your support by registering to create your own fundraising page. With your help and with the support of your family, co-workers and friends, we CAN make a difference!
Or just come on by to take it all in! Your participation will ensure we all enjoy a fun family event with something for everyone!
No entry fee - just contribute as you are able in advance or on the day of the event!
Bring the Kids!!!
Kids Corner, Food Trucks, Door Prizes, Music, cars, 50/50 draw, London Jet Aircraft Museum, and watch the London Fire Dept!
And of course, Ride or walk the runway!!!
Reduce the stigma!!
Not able to join us?
London International Airport
City of London Fire Department
Not able to join us but still want to help? Canadian Mental Health Association Thames Valley does amazing work and deserves our support
City of London Fire Department
London International Airport
City of London Fire Department
Watch The City of London Fire Department!!f
London International Airport
London International Airport
London International Airport
This event would not be possible without the amazing folks from the London International Airport!
London Jet Aircraft Museum
London Jet Aircraft Museum
London International Airport
Great place and great people! Please check them out!
Grill 'em Food Truck!!
London Jet Aircraft Museum
Adam's Ice Cream Kingdom!!
Great to Have Grill'em joining us!!!
Adam's Ice Cream Kingdom!!
London Jet Aircraft Museum
Adam's Ice Cream Kingdom!!
Also joining us with some tasty treats!
A Personal Note
Some of you may ask what motivates me and my family to take on the initiatives we have. I promise you – it is not easy and at times we do find ourselves mentally drained and physically exhausted. The answer however is simple – to try to make a difference. To try to harness the on-going grief of loosing Kate, and witness something positive come out of our personal loss. If the loss of our Kate means that others will live and prosper, our efforts are worth the challenges we face, and help provide some meaning to the loss we have experienced.
I hope that you all will take a few moments to reflect on your own struggles, and to recognize we are all stronger if we share our personal stories – of which I know we all have. Help is out there, but we must choose to seek it out!
When I rode my bike from London to Halifax, Brenda and I formed many meaningful connections that we will never forget. While it has been some time since we have connected with some of you, we remember you all and hope you are flourishing.
One small thing we did for my ride was a request for pictures of loved ones that had been lost to suicide or mental illness. Many were sent to us and I carried these pictures with me, and still keep them close - in my end table beside our bed. I will be bringing these pictures to the runway on June 5th as a reminder of why we do what we do – and to honour those who lost their fight. If any of you would like to send us a picture of a lost loved one, please forward to fortheloveofkateiride@gmail.com, and we will proudly display it on our “board of honour” at the event.
I hope that many of you will join us on June 5 to bicycle ride, to run or to walk our designated two km route. We hope it will be a remembrance of lives lost -but in a fun, nonjudgmental, family friendly environment. We have many activities planned. From a Kids Corner, a car show, music, and perhaps a few planes, as well as an appearance from the London Fire Department! There will be door prizes that have been generously donated by the business community, and also a 50/50 draw!! Just come out as you are able between 4 and 8 PM.
If you can, please sign up to fund raise amongst your own family and friends and we’ll see you on the runway! Or if you prefer, and are able, contribute by following the links on our website. By providing much needed resources to CMHA TV (or if you prefer a similar organization in your own community), you will help provide the funds necessary to not only change people’s lives – but to help save them!
If you cannot attend, while we will miss you, please still consider a contribution by following the links on our website.
Mental illness is just that – an illness. The stigma must come to an end. While perhaps we can’t “change the world”, we are stronger by coming together and we can make a difference!
Thanks so much for your ongoing interest and support of our initiatives. Our family is looking forward to seeing some of you on June 5th!
Sending peace and love to all.
Doug
For the Love of Kate
2019 Bike Ride London to Halifax
2019 Bike Ride London to Halifax
2019 Bike Ride London to Halifax
Daily blogs from our 2019 ride through Eastern Canada
OUR STORY
2019 Bike Ride London to Halifax
2019 Bike Ride London to Halifax
To learn more of our story, please scroll to the bottom or follow the link
Some Pictures from last year's event....
Reduce the Stigma!
It is OK ! Let's talk about Mental Health
The last Word
Hi Friends!
The efforts must continue to end the stigma associated with mental health conditions!
We look forward to continued efforts and thank you all for the support and encouragement you have provided!
I hope that by continuing to share our story, we have helped encourage you all to look after yourselves, and to help those you touch a
Hi Friends!
The efforts must continue to end the stigma associated with mental health conditions!
We look forward to continued efforts and thank you all for the support and encouragement you have provided!
I hope that by continuing to share our story, we have helped encourage you all to look after yourselves, and to help those you touch as you are able. The challenges we face in today's society continue!
From me, from Brenda and all of our family, thanks again. When required, we will continue pushing up the hill and against the wind so we can feel the exhilaration that awaits when we change direction and find the wind at our back on the decent.
Doug
Our Story
My name is Doug Harris and like so many others, tragically, my 32-year-old daughter Kate died by suicide in late August of 2016. Kate was a wonderful and caring daughter, friend, sister and aunt who should
have had so much living yet to do.
As her Dad, I was blind to her struggles with mental health. She would occasionally touch on it,
My name is Doug Harris and like so many others, tragically, my 32-year-old daughter Kate died by suicide in late August of 2016. Kate was a wonderful and caring daughter, friend, sister and aunt who should
have had so much living yet to do.
As her Dad, I was blind to her struggles with mental health. She would occasionally touch on it, but I had no idea what was lurking just below the surface. Admittedly, even if she had shared more with me, I'm not so sure I would have recognized the full extent of her pain. Outwardly, she was just too strong, happy and generous for me to understand her struggle.
I knew from the start that Kate's story could not end with her death. She was a special lady, and her death had to mean something! My hope is that by sharing Kate's story, others will live and prosper. That people suffering will reach out and ask for help, that those recipients entrusted with receiving such an ask will be understanding and help steer the person in an appropriate direction, that employers will be compassionate and non-judgmental and that health care providers will have the tools and talent to ensure a positive outcome.
In honour of Kate, with the support of my wonderful wife Brenda and our dog Lily, in 2019 I bicycled over 2,200 kms from London, Ontario (Kate's birthplace) to Halifax, NS (where Kate lived and died). Through this initiative, and with the help of many wonderful people, our family was proud to have raised over $25,000 in support of London Ontario's St. Joseph's Healthcare Foundation - an amazing group of people we have been very proud to support!
https://www.sjhc.london.on.ca/foundation
For more information on my ride, please check out my blogs - which were updated daily as I rode across Eastern Canada.