Canada's first publicly chosen stamp goes on sale
The first ever Canadian stamp to have its design selected by a public vote has gone on sale this week. Canada Post is selling the special stamp designed by Canadian artist Miriane Majeau to raise money for mental health causes.
It is making 3.5m of the stamps available at post offices across Canada, and via its website, offering a dollar from the sale of each booklet of 10 stamps for donation to the Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health.
The Puzzle, as the design for the 2011 Mental Health stamp is called, was selected from five finalists earlier this year, with 286,000 Canadians voting in the process.
“The response by Canadians has been tremendous,” said government minister Steven Fletcher. “More than 300 designs were submitted and almost 300,000 votes were cast. And now, Canadians can buy these stamps and help us contribute to an important cause.”
Majeau said of her stamp design that it showed how dealing with mental health issues can be like “solving a puzzle”.
She said that during the design contest, strangers had approached her to share their experiences with mental illness.
Quebec artist Miriane Majeau provided the design for the 2011 Mental Health stamp
“The rallying effect this has created makes me very happy, my drawing was telling their stories-and encouraging others to tell theirs,” said Majeau.
Priority issue
Mental illness has been a priority issue for Canada Post’s fundraising since 2008, and since then the Corporation’s staff and customers have helped raise more than $4.8m for the Foundation, including nearly $1m from the sale of annually-issued Mental Health stamps.
From this week until October 1, Canada Post customers will be asked to donate to the Foundation after every retail transaction, while along with the Mental Health stamps, special priority and express prepaid envelopes will be sold to raise funds for the campaign.
This week, the Foundation handed out $2.1m in grants for 47 community groups that help Canadians living with mental illness.
The Foundation has now supported 100 groups, who have been able to apply for specific grants of up to $65,000 for each project.
James Roche, chairman of the Canada Post Foundation for Mental Health, said: “While many other charities, such as hospitals and addiction centres, address mental illness, our Foundation’s support focuses on grassroots efforts, helping to ensure critical community support and programming is available when it’s needed.”
