Take a Seat & Make a Friend London, ON Edition
We recently came across a video done by an organization called "Soul Pancake." Oprah Winfrey has been a huge supporter of this organization and often aired their events on her television show. One event that Soul Pancake has recently done is have strangers sit in a ball pit and get to know one another. A sign is posted over the pit saying "Have a Seat & Make a Friend" and random people walking past are invited to sit down with one another and discuss life's big questions. Example questions include "Find something the two of you have in common" and "Name and describe a person who has made a huge influence in your life." There will be about 10 larger balls in the pit that have questions on them and the people sitting are able to discuss these questions with a complete stranger. Our vision is to end stigma that is attached to mental health. Our mission is to is to raise awareness for mental health, specifically anxiety disorders, because we feel that anxiety disorders, phobias and fears tend to be overlooked. This project will challenge Londoner's to go out of their comfort zone. We hope that Londoner's will be authentically engaged in getting into a ball pit and get to know someone that have never met before. This exercise is anxiety provoking, but we hope people really share deep, meaningful thoughts with one another and that in itself will raise awareness. We have already gotten approval from the City of London special events to have this event and are covered under insurance. Our plan is to run this project for the very first time in London, ON at Sunfest, which is July 4-7th, 2013. We are currently in the works of getting in contact of Sunfest organizers to see if there is a spot for us! We will be collecting donations for anyone who wishes to get in the ball pit! We came across Paul Melnik's story, who took his own life suddenly. He was on the wait list for mental health help for a program called FEMAP here in London, ON.