Hats off to tremendous support

Hats On for Awareness means a lot of things to Enza Tiberi-Checchia. It’s a way to remember her own father, who died by suicide nearly 27 years ago. It’s a creative venue for showing support for the many people who live with mental illness, including Enza herself, and a way to generate funds for CAMH.

It’s taking a really horrible thing, and saying we can make something good out of this," says Enza, co-founder of Hats On for Awareness. "When I’m suffering, I just want to disappear; I don’t want anyone to notice me, and hats would be good to become incognito. With the Hatsquerade, we flip that around; we wear the hat to show support for people with mental illness."

The idea is simple—upwards of 400 guests attend the Hatsquerade Gala Fundraiser each year, donning wonderful and creative hats to raise mental health awareness and funds. As one of CAMH’s largest annual third-party events, it has already contributed a remarkable $270,000 to CAMH since 2009, helping create the Hats On for Awareness Volunteer Lounge and the Giovanni Tiberi Patient Room in Geriatrics at CAMH. Organizers are now hoping to make Hats On a national effort.

"We are thrilled with the amount of funds we have already raised for CAMH, and are so appreciative of all our donors and campaign contributors. This is only the tip of the iceberg," says Benny Caringi, co-founder of Hats On for Awareness. "We’ve been successful because we have maintained a grassroots approach within our community. We’ll maintain that grassroots approach as we expand across the country."