Vision
Acts of Kindness for Mental Health Foundation (The AOK Project) is dedicated to building compassion, resilience and competency through creating circles of kindness.
At the AOK Project, we bring joy and financial relief to the lives of children, youth and their families experiencing mental health challenges and financial hardship. We encourage them to complete the circle by generating acts of kindness to others.
Mission
The AOK Project provides wellness grants to children, youth, and their families who have been affected by mental health and are in need of financial support. In turn, the recipients are encouraged to provide acts of kindness to a person or organization of their choice. This creates and fosters circles of kindness.
Wellness grants support mental health and recovery by reducing stress, increasing happiness and improving mood, self esteem and social connectedness. The grants can be used for a wide variety of purposes including paying a bill, registering for a course, purchasing items such as groceries, sports equipment or art supplies, or paying for healthcare needs.
The recipient must be a resident of Vancouver up to the age of 19 and be referred by a healthcare provider treating their mental health.
Providing acts of kindness to children and youth with mental health challenges and financial hardship supports their recovery while promoting gratitude, compassion and resilience.
Purpose
The AOK Project grew out of an awareness that many children, youth and their families who are engaged in mental health treatment experience financial barriers that prevent them from opportunities that would support their recovery.
The AOK Project has many benefits:
- Supports mental health recovery
- Provides support and reduces stress for families experiencing financial hardship
- Builds capacity by giving youth and families access to opportunities that would not have been available to them
- Brings joy and improves well-being
- Contributes to the development of kindness, empathy, competence and resilience
- Reduces isolation and supports social connectedness
- Allows the recipient to experience gratitude and compassion for self and others
- Creates circles of kindness that benefit everyone involved.
Everyone benefits from creating circles of kindness:
- The people or organizations that support others financially by donating
- The healthcare professional that supports the child, youth and their family in their recovery
- The children, and families who are able to learn reciprocity by giving to others.
Circles of kindness support the development of everyone’s empathy, resilience and competence.
Copyright Acts of Kindness for Mental Health Foundation©
Charitable Registration Number: 73305 4670 RR0001