A Letter From Dan Edwards

The following letter is being sent on behalf of Dan Edwards

Dear Sarnia,

My name is Dan Edwards and I am writing this letter to you because I need your help. First, let me take you back a few years – almost 10, to be exact - to jog your memory as to who I am and what I have been up to for just short of a decade.

You may remember a fundraising campaign that swept across Sarnia nine years ago called 'Do it for Dan'. The campaign was put together to provide my family with financial aid for home improvements, medical services, and equipment after I suffered a spinal cord injury at the age of 18. The injury left me paralyzed from the neck down and I have been using a wheelchair to get around ever since.

Now what you may not recall is the end result of the Do it for Dan campaign. With the help of local businesses, schools, churches, organizations, and individuals in the Sarnia-Lambton area, the campaign concluded with over $150,000 raised in just 11 months. After experiencing such an overwhelming outpouring of compassion and love from this community, I have been trying to find a meaningful way to say thank you for all of your efforts. For a long time I was unsure how to do that.

In 2011, my experiences led me to become a motivational speaker, giving presentations to schools and other groups in the community to help inspire young people the same way I was inspired many years ago. I cannot tell you how rewarding it is to engage with our youth and encourage them to move forward and realize their worth, even in the face of adversity. It is a fulfilling endeavour, and one that I feel very passionate about. But still, I've had a nagging feeling that I could be doing something more. It was not until the ninth anniversary of my accident that I came up with a way to do just that.

Through 2011 and 2012, Sarnia lost a number of young people to mental illness and teen suicide. These youths suffered from depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and other forms of mental illness. In light of recent tragedies, Bluewater Health's Mental Health and Addiction Services is making important efforts to combat mental illness, including, but not limited to, offering treatment and support to persons suffering from mental illness and addiction through various programs and services in the community.

Now, as I mentioned at the beginning of this letter, I need your help. To date, my team and I have organized a number of fundraising events throughout this past year in Sarnia to raise funds and promote mental health awareness. All of the proceeds raised will support Bluewater Health's Mental Health and Addiction Services and go toward an ultimate goal of $150,000; the same amount that was raised by the Do It For Dan campaign nine years ago. I’ve dubbed this initiative ‘Do it for Sarnia’, because you've done it before for me, so I want to help do it again for others in need.

The 10th anniversary of my accident is coming up on August 18, 2016. On that day, I will be hosting an event at the Imperial Theatre, titled ’10 Years Later – An Evening with Dan Edwards’ to do two things: first, to say thank you to the people of Sarnia and to commemorate the Do it for Dan campaign and the enormous efforts made by everyone involved, and second, to raise money for the same cause that sparked my passion to become a motivational speaker several years ago: mental health. That night, we’ll be screening a short documentary film produced by Lambton College’s Digital Photography students and myself titled ‘Me, Myself and Sarnia’, which chronicles life after my accident and how mental health affects both me and the Sarnia community. Afterwards, at approximately the same hour my injury occurred a decade ago, I’m going to take centre stage and debut a new speech, discussing going with the unexpected, adjusting to life in a wheelchair, and my journey to independence. 

So here’s what I need you to do: I need you to go out and buy a ticket to ‘10 Years Later – An Evening with Dan Edwards’. Tickets are $30 and include the feature presentation (documentary screening and feature speech), appetizers, cash bar and reception following the show. You can get your tickets online at imperialtheatre.net or at the Bluewater Health Foundation office. Funds raised from the evening will go toward the Do it for Sarnia campaign and my $150,000 fundraising goal.

In addition, if you would like to support this campaign, perhaps by hosting your own event, I want to hear from you! Please send me an email [email protected], or give me a call at (519) 402-3263. I’d love to hear your ideas and chat more about how we can achieve this goal.

Nine years ago an article was published following the first Do it for Dan event, and one of my closest friends said this: "We know if it was any one of us, he'd do the same thing". Almost ten years later, I'd say it's time I prove them right.

Dan Edwards

Watch the teaser trailer for 10 Years Later – An Evening with Dan Edwards 

For media inquiries or more information         

Dan Edwards
519-402-3263
[email protected]

Kathy Alexander                                                     
Executive Director                                                                          
519-464-4438
[email protected]