CAMH announces $500 million campaign to support world-leading mental health research

Spurred by Orlando Corporation's largest corporate gift in CAMH's history, the No One Left Behind campaign will support building a new Research & Discovery Centre

TORONTO, Feb. 8, 2023 /CNW/ - February 8, 2023 – Yesterday, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) announced the No One Left Behind campaign. With a goal to raise $500 million, No One Left Behind is the world's largest fundraising campaign to support hospital-based mental health research. Philanthropic donations to the campaign will support life-saving mental health research programs at CAMH and building a new Research & Discovery Centre at CAMH's Queen Street site in Toronto.

Raising half a billion dollars doesn't happen overnight, and No One Left Behind is launching with generous gifts and pledges from donors who share CAMH's belief that mental health is health. To date, more than $400 million in donations and pledges have been raised since the beginning of the campaign's quiet phase in 2018. These gifts include the largest corporate donation in CAMH's history, a $50-million gift from Orlando Corporation, which will directly support the Research & Discovery Centre. As part of this gift, Orlando Corporation will match every donation directed towards the Research & Discovery Centre up to $20 million, so every dollar given will accelerate progress towards our goal.

Since its establishment in 1998, CAMH has undertaken a historic redevelopment of its spaces and places, a journey that has been powered by philanthropy. As demand for mental health care surges, there is an urgent need to find new ways of diagnosing mental illness sooner, providing personalized treatments, and preventing mental illness altogether.

CAMH Research & Discovery Centre

Every day, CAMH researchers advance breakthroughs that help people living with mental illness, despite working in buildings built in the 1960s. To respond to the growing mental health crisis, with the support of the donor community, CAMH will complete its decades-long redevelopment and build the Research & Discovery Centre.

With 385,000 square feet of collaborative space, the Research & Discovery Centre will unite CAMH's research programs under one roof, supercharge collaboration, revolutionize our understanding of the brain, spur and accelerate new discoveries that transform the future of mental health, and most importantly, inspire hope for those living with mental illness.

As a magnet for recruiting and retaining the world's top talent, the Research & Discovery Centre will be home to more than 2/3 of CAMH's more than 1,400 research staff, and could increase the number of research scientists, staff, students and trainees by 43%. Patients and families will have safe, dignified spaces to participate in research studies, and proximity to patient care areas will enable new discoveries to be seamlessly and rapidly put into practice to improve people's lives.

Designed by KPMB Architects and TreanorHL, the Research & Discovery Centre will have a focus on sustainability with LEED Platinum certification and a wood timber curvilinear structure to reduce carbon footprint. More than a building, it will serve as a focal point for the community and a beacon of hope for people living with mental illness around the world.

The No One Left Behind Campaign Cabinet comprises 24 dedicated volunteers and mental health champions who are leading the charge toward CAMH's ambitious fundraising goal. The Campaign Cabinet is led by co-Chairs, Cameron Fowler and Sandi Treliving, who are also members of the CAMH Foundation Board of Directors. No One Left Behind was developed in partnership with Camp Jefferson, CAMH's agency of record.

Quotes:

"The physical transformation of our Queen Street West site is turning what was once a walled institution into a symbol of hope for the future of mental health care. With the construction of the Research & Discovery Centre, we can continue to be at the forefront of research discoveries and developments that will improve the lives of those living with mental illness, because mental health is health."

Sarah Downey, President & CEO, CAMH

"CAMH Foundation is profoundly grateful to Orlando Corporation for their historic gift in support of the Research & Discovery Centre and to those who have already supported the No One Left Behind campaign. We greatly appreciate our community's ongoing support to drive CAMH's life-saving work forward. This is a generational opportunity to build on the momentum we've created and realize a 25-year vision that will change mental health care forever."

Deborah Gillis, President & CEO, CAMH Foundation

"Science is an international pursuit and CAMH attracts scientists from around the world. A new Research & Discovery Centre with state-of-the-art facilities will allow us to attract even more by an order of magnitude. The symbolism of it is important, too. Mental health is the greatest cause of our time and we need an investment commensurate with the scale of the problems we are trying to solve. We want people to walk by the CAMH campus and say 'Wow!' This is where ground-breaking research is happening to solve the biggest challenges in mental health, that impact so many around the world."

Dr. Aristotle Voineskos, Vice-President, Research, CAMH

"It's been my honour for the past 20 years to work on the redevelopment of CAMH's campus. We always knew we'd have the opportunity to build a different kind of building—the CAMH Research & Discovery Centre. It's about providing CAMH with a facility they absolutely need in order to address the greatest challenge of our time by connecting research with clinical services. That's the future and CAMH is building that future right now. This is a historic moment."

Bruce Kuwabara, Founding Partner, KPMB Architects

"Orlando Corporation has made this gift because we firmly believe in a future where no one is left behind. Mental health is the most important health issue of our lifetime and we are confident that the CAMH Research & Discovery Centre will allow us to address this crisis head on and accelerate the life-saving work CAMH is already doing. We truly do see this building as a global beacon of hope for people living with mental illness—and the work that happens there will have a profound impact on millions of people around the world."

Blair Wolk, President, Orlando Corporation

"We are honoured to serve as Co-Chairs for the No One Left Behind campaign. This cause is deeply personal to both of us and we believe CAMH is the best place in the world to lead efforts toward solving the global mental health crisis. Philanthropy enables CAMH to rise to the challenges of today and find answers that fuel progress for tomorrow. We're grateful to those who have already supported the campaign, and now, we are calling on people across Canada and around the world whose lives have been touched by mental illness to support the incredible work that happens here."

Cameron Fowler and Sandi Treliving, No One Left Behind Campaign Co-Chairs and CAMH Foundation Board Members

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada's largest mental health teaching hospital and one of the world's leading research centres in its field. CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre.

SOURCE Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

Hayley Clark, Manager, Media Strategy, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), [email protected]