Dedicated mental health advocate, Lauren Vandenberg is a proud new mom to Maeve, a name inspired by Gaelic roots meaning “intoxicating.” Lauren’s motivation to create a more compassionate and understanding workplace has deepened since the birth of her daughter. “When I started it was about wanting to make the workplace a more accepting place, now I hope there will be much more progress accepting our collective humanity for Maeve,” said Lauren.
Lauren’s Shoppers Love. You. Run for Women (RFW) team, The Mindful Movers, grew from a grass roots team of seven members in 2014 and raising $2,260 to a team that is consistently one of the top fundraising team in Ottawa. In 2020, the team was Ottawa’s top RFW fundraising team with over $15,000 in donations. Lauren refers to her teammates at EDC as “froleagues” and has really enjoyed watching how the RFW has been such a positive emotional experience for everyone who participates.
In 2019 Lauren was honoured as one of the Top 40 Mental Health Volunteers for her dedication to raising awareness and funds for mental health, volunteerism and working to destigmatize mental illness. This year’s run will be an especially emotional experience for Lauren who lost her mother to cancer, and who struggled with bipolar disorder throughout her life. “There will be a lot of emotions not having my mom – she’d be a great grandma,” Lauren said.
The Run for Women, brought to you by the LOVE YOU by Shoppers Drug Mart™ program is a 5K Run/Walk, and 10K Run taking place in 18 cities across Canada. Last year, 26,000 Canadians participated in the Run for Women. Walk or run for women’s mental health on July 11. Create your own team and or join 2021 Awesome Royals at runforwomen.ca