Blog

In 2021, Mazda’s Local Legends campaign helped rebuild Canadian small businesses across the country that were impacted during COVID-19.

It was a timely and purposeful act that helped aid community partners. This year, to cap off 2022, Northside Mazda in Sault Ste. Marie was once again tasked with choosing a recipient of the cash award of $5,000 in their community.

Northside Mazda has chosen to shine a spotlight on an organization that goes the extra mile to serve the community of Sault Ste. Marie and their residents.

“In partnership with Mazda Canada and our Local Legend’s initiative, Northside Mazda is proud to recognize the hard work and dedication put forth by Amanda Lambert and her team at Strong Minds,” said Mario Palumbo, owner of Northside Mazda.

“Amanda and her team go above and beyond to focus on mental health needs in Sault Ste. Marie,” Palumbo said.

Since COVID-19, mental health challenges have increased among Canadians, making this the perfect opportunity to help out Strong Minds and play a role in helping to improve mental health in Sault Ste. Marie.

“It is evident that their commitment to providing services to a healthier lifestyle to those in need goes a long way to all involved. We hope that they are able to use the funds to purchase or upgrade any equipment required that is utilized in their services provided,” he said.

Strong Minds prides itself on bridging the gap between traditional therapeutic practices and whole-body wellness. Their fitness-based therapy model is grounded on the principle that exercise and staying active can improve both physical and mental health.

In addition to working with client referrals on an individual basis, they’ve partnered with various agencies and organizations to provide fitness-based therapy programming for individuals struggling with physical and/or mental health challenges.

They also support local mental health initiatives through fundraising with their annual Run for Change which is coming up on its sixth year this spring.

They’re grateful for those community agencies that have embraced the fitness-based therapy model and refer clients to Strong Minds to complement their care and treatment plan.

They welcome further collaboration and partnerships within the social service sector and anticipate exponential growth throughout 2023 as they curate a multi-disciplinary team within the company.

They can’t thank Northside Mazda enough for supporting them as they grow and continue to serve their clients.

“My goal with Strong Minds was to change the narrative and help our clients to feel empowered to play a role in their own mental wellness through physical activity,” said Amanda Lambert, CEO of Strong Minds.

“As both a service provider and a service user myself, I observed that there was a disconnect between addressing physical and mental health, so I sought to bridge that gap by implementing physical activity alongside traditional therapeutic methods and focusing on whole-body wellness,” Lambert said.

The donation from Northside Mazda caught Amanda completely off guard and left her speechless.

“Northside Mazda called me to come in for what they described as a ‘holiday surprise’ and in my head I had no idea what to expect. I thought maybe a couple hundred-dollar donation or something along those lines. I was in shock when Mario presented me with a cheque for $5,000.”

“It took me several minutes to gather myself and get back into reality. It truly didn’t feel real. This donation will go such a long way for us and will help us fast track people who were on our waiting list for therapy. We couldn’t be more thankful for Northside Mazda and their extremely gracious donation.”