Votes accelerate institute to win SUV, cash prizes
Pine River Institute is one of six charitable organizations across the U.S. and Canada to win a custom Land Rover Defender 130 SUV, to further their ability to serve their communities. It will also receive a $25,000 grant from Outside Interactive and $5,000 from Chase, the presenting partner.
A treatment program for youth mental health and addiction, Pine River Institute rallied support from its community to win in the Outdoor Accessibility and Education category.
“We’re really honoured and thrilled to have won,” said Jill Palmer, the institute’s executive director of development. “It was exciting for us to be seen on an international stage and to be recognized in that way… It was a wonderful way to engage our community in the voting process. It’s been a really rewarding and uplifting experience.”
Although it was not disclosed to Pine River Institute how many votes they received, out of 500 entries, Pine River Institute managed to get itself into the list of top-five finalists in their category. From there, they solicited votes from the community, campaigning hard on social media, to take them to the semi-finals.
Participants typically spend 15 months in the program, beginning with canoe tripping in Algonquin Park, followed by winter camping and then a stay at the Pine River Institute campus north of Shelburne.
“Vehicles are really important to Pine River and crucial to our work,” said Palmer.
“The outside heals… The outside is incredible important to us at Pine River,” she said during her acceptance speech.
Palmer told The Echo that vehicles are essential to get the youth and staff into the wilderness, with the equipment, which includes canoes, cross-county skis, snowshoes, plus food and supplies.
“The Defender has all of the bells and whistles, amazing features to deal with rugged terrain. It will get through anything. It also has great carrying capacity and towing capacity,” said Palmer.
When it is delivered, the Defender will come with a custom wrap, and some training on how to use all the special features.
The $30,000 US (about $42,000 in Canadian dollars) will support Pine River Institute’s programs for youth and their families.
“A really important component of our work that is ramping up is our outreach,” said Palmer. “We take the knowledge and expertise of the live-in treatment program and we amplify it across Ontario, providing information to families and educators about how best to support youth with addiction and mental health challenges as to alleviate or mitigate a crisis.”
The money will also help fund Pine River Institute’s efforts to provide training on their family therapy model to clinicians and staff working with youth.
Pine River Institute’s unique approach combines a maturity model and educational model based on the developmental needs of adolescents, and both are grounded in best practices for addiction treatment for youth.
Parents play a vital role in our parallel process, as parents and their children work alongside each other through the four phases of their journey.
Pine River Institute receives provincial funding for the basic treatment program but everything else relies on fundraising.
“While we have won this vehicle, donations are crucial to our programs and all of the good work that we do,” said Palmer.
As a registered charity, Pine River Institute welcomes donations at any time of the year. Donate online at pineriverinstitute.com.
Contributed photo: President and CEO of Jaguar Land Rover North America Joe Eberhardt, Pine River Institute’s executive director of Development Jill Palmer, and Robin Thurston, CEO of Outside, during a ceremony at Destination Defender, a three‐day adventure festival held at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, California. Alumni, parents and staff observed by video link.
