Hello friends, family, poets, dancers, and artists,

As we continue to be fully vaccinated and emerge carefully from the global pandemic, I am raising funds (through my poetry and dancer series, The Poetry Extension) for Sick Kids Hospital's Eating Disorders Program. My goal is to help children and adolescents with eating disorders who are struggling to cope with the mental health impact the past year has had on their ability to access treatment.

As many of you know, I was a patient of this ward as a girl and young adult, and the support I received through the program saved my life. To this day, the care I received from the contacts I made there are a lifeline to me. This is especially true of Dr. Debbie Katzman, a leader and pioneer in the structure of the program at Sick Kids, as well as an integral researcher in the field of adolescent medicine and eating disorders. Her research has global impact for children suffering from debilitating illnesses.

Now, more than ever, it is difficult for kids with mental health disorders to stay in recovery after the severe isolation they have experienced throughout the pandemic. While most of us may feel it should be easy to simply move on with “normal” life as society begins to reopen, children with mental health disorders find life-altering transitions like this impossible to navigate. My hope is that our fundraising events will give these kids – some of whom are as young as eight years old – the programs and infrastructure they need to stay healthy and avoid the long-term, sometimes fatal, effects of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.

If you can, please donate what feels right to Sick Kids and this hugely important program.

With sincere personal thanks,
Natalya Anderson