Slo-pitch tournament raises funds for Foundry qathet/food banks

Last year was the end of an era for the annual slo-pitch softball charity tournament organized by Debbie and Trevor Mueller and Janet and Len Street, which took place at the end of each August, raising funds for cancer research.  

Brandt Larson organized this year's weekend softball fundraiser: Wade’s Cause memorial slo-pitch tournament, which took place at Sunset Park and Cranberry Field on Saturday, August 16, and Sunday, August 17.

"We had 18 teams from here, the [lower] Sunshine Coast and Langley,” said Brandt.

The memorial event is in honour of Brandt's brother Wade, who died by suicide. The family is still recovering from the tragedy, but wanted to honour Wade by giving the $17,042 raised at the tournament to organizations he would appreciate: Foundry qathet, Powell River Minor Baseball Association, Powell River Action Centre Food Bank and Texada Island Food Bank.

"My brother, he killed himself three years ago,” said Brandt. “It was really hard for everybody, and it still is.”

Brandt said before his brother passed, he was the kind of guy who liked to share videos and positive messages on social media.

"He was trying to spread positivity and he wanted to get into fundraising," he added. “That was something he talked about before he passed away."

$6,000 of the funds raised at the tournament went to Foundry qathet, a centre for youth to access mental health services. Powell River Minor Baseball Association will receive $5,000 and the rest is to be split between the two food banks.

"If there was a Foundry when Wade was younger, he would have benefitted," said Larson. "It would have been nice if somebody other than my mom or stepfather, who knew something about what teenagers and young people were going through, [could have given a] helping hand and helped him navigate through his earlier years."

Brandt said his brother was a ball player when he was younger.

"I'm not part of the organization but in the last couple of years, minor baseball has improved in registration in leaps and bounds," said Brandt. "We thought helping them out would be a good thing. And the food banks, nowadays, it's hard for people to make ends meet."

Brandt said Wade died two weeks after his 40th birthday. 

"He'd always been kind of undiagnosed, but we always knew he had mental health issues," he added. "That was a big message when we were giving our awards out, to encourage anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide or mental health issues to reach out and find someone to talk to."

Brandt said both men and women struggle with the same mental issues, but for a lot of men there is still stigma about talking about mental health.

"I have a very close-knit bunch of friends that I talk to, and we're all open about that kind of thing," said Brandt. "I have a counsellor who I've talked to when I felt that I needed somebody; you don't want to put that on family and friends."

He said he was overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from the community.

"If people still come up and we get the numbers, I'll keep hosting the tournament, because I think it was a big thing for the town," said Brandt. "All the teams, they were all here Friday night, had a great time at the Blackberry Festival and the fireworks, and said they wanted to come back to Powell River."

He said if people need someone to talk to, or someone to listen, they can dial 988 for the Suicide Crisis Helpline.

"Please remember, someone loves you and someone cares about you,” said Brandt. “Keep talking friends.”

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