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What goes up must come down: iClimb for United Way

Kudos to the United Way of Windsor and Essex County for pulling off a record-setting iClimb event at the WFCU Centre that raised more than $55,000 for local mental health programs.

More than 2,400 people took part in the ninth annual event, including Eugenio Mendoza, who recognized in High School he had issues with alcohol and reached out for help to the United Way. He is an extremely bright and articulate young man who understands the difference between being dry and being sober and who shares his story in the hopes he can help others facing similar challenges.

Every dollar donated to the United Way remains in Windsor and Essex County and I was happy to do my part. I’m not sure I would have been able to climb all those stairs if I wasn’t more than 40 days into my run streak, but I am, and they weren’t so bad. 🙂 In fact, I went straight from the WFCU Centre to Malden Park for my weekly hill workout!

Here’s United Way CEO Lorraine Goddard talking about the event and its goal of eliminating the stigma around mental illness.

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Windsor Women’s March: For What It’s Worth

Violet and I had an absolute blast taking the stage with her friend Jaycee at the Windsor Women’s March and belting out For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield.

We were all pretty nervous up there in front of a crowd of more than 500 people and some of the signature choreography we practiced the night before ended up on the cutting room floor. I almost dropped my pick twice and somehow managed to save it. Violet rocked that bongo drum, though, and Jaycee sure kicked it on the tambourine.

Organizer Pat Papadeas made an impassioned, empowering speech and did a fantastic job organizing the event. She invited Violet and me to sing the song because we had posted the song on Facebook a year ago, wishing well a busload of Windsor women who joined the historic March on Washington. She said that video was a ray of sunshine amidst some negative social media posts and after a long bus ride with a long wait on the border. That made us quite happy and we were honoured she asked us to play at the march.

The studio version. 💜☀️😎

Posted by Donald McArthur on Sunday, January 21, 2018

Donald McArthur and Violet Sunshine play at the Windsor Women’s March.