Mishall RehmanMany to One (M2O), a registered Canadian Charity, is hosting an online auction starting on April 17 that will run for two weeks. The charity hopes to raise money for its post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) database project that will feature programs from coast-to-coast.
M2O started out several years ago as an auction website that raised money for charities like Wounded Warriors Canada that assist those with PTSD. However, CEO and founder of M2O, Renee Mair, had a greater vision for her charity and after obtaining registered charity status in 2013 went out to look for the best way to help those with PTSD.
Mair, whose husband is an ex-reservist and has close family friends that are veterans, noticed that families have a difficult time finding the right programs while charities often have a challenging time getting the word out. And so Mair set her mind to creating a PTSD database that was geocentric.
“We’ve talked to a lot of people, and it just seems like its the right thing to do. It’s the one thing that will make it that much easier across North America,” said Mair.
Mair and her organization hope to create a database of vetted, legitimate programs to make it easier for veterans to find programs across Canada and the U.S., close to where they are.
“The importance for me personally, for this action, is to get awareness out there that one: this is our mission, this is what we’re working towards building; and two: this is not going to cost that much if we can get the right people invested financially to get this up and running,” added Mair.
Right now M2O is in the early stages of building the database. The auction is a means to help the organization raise the necessary funds to reach their goals.
Mair has reached out and created alliances in the U.S. as well and has even caught the eye of some well-known Americans.
“One of the cool things with this auction, this year, is that we actually have a celebrity who’s sort of been watching us for a while to see what we’re doing and where our heart lies. Although he’s American he’s said you’re a Canadian charity, but I’m going to do what I can to help you,” said Mair.
The celebrity in question is actor and director Chance Kelly, well known for acting in TV shows like HBO’s Generation Kill or NBC’s Aquarius.
Kelly has donated a signed picture of himself with LCol. Stephen Ferrando, who he played in Generation Kill.
Mair adds that LCol. Ferrando has also offered his support to her.
Other auction items include autographed DVD sets of Aquarius, a hand-held thermal camera, backpacks, rifle cases, a tent set, Sypderco knives and more.
Mair hopes that once the database is up and running, she can recruit veterans to help volunteer to check the legitimacy of programs. She also hopes that one day, with the right funding, M2O can offer bursaries to veterans who need financial support to obtain the necessary help.
“We see this as having a huge amount of potential, and we want to involve veterans because they have a vested interest in their mental health, and they want to help,” noted Mair.
The auction runs from April 17 to 30. The auction is open to residents of Canada and the U.S., and items will be shipped to the winner. To bid and help raise money for a PTSD database to check out the website.
