During the first two years of The Matthew DeCicco Memorial Golf Tournament, our committee learned a lot about mental health issues and the impact they can have on individuals and their families. Therefore, at its outset, our goal for this tournament was to bring awareness and support to the mental health community in Matthew’s honour. As such, at that time, we chose to donate the tournament funds raised to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), an important organization that serves many communities in Canada.

However, since that time, we have become acutely aware, and much more educated about a particular aspect of mental health known as Men’s Mental Health. Specifically, we have learned that this often-stigmatized, misunderstood, and under-funded area of health is of vast importance in the lives of men, and also currently in crisis. And, because Matthew was a young man who also struggled with this, we have now decided to dedicate the funds received each year to this crucial and prevalent issue – Men’s Mental Health.

We have chosen to do this through our new program called Matthew’s Reach, a pilot program that will offer significant and direct support to men in our community who are struggling with mental health issues.