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Help me launch Reframe Voices—so no child suffers in silence

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Please watch the GoFundMe video for my story—or read on.

Hi, I’m Penny. I’m a mom, a professional communicator, and a mental health advocate living in Vancouver, BC. Since childhood, I’ve struggled with disordered eating—and I’ve come to understand my story not as a string of unrelated challenges, but as part of a complex web of biological, psychological, and social factors.

The picture of child mental health is one many parents don’t fully understand—until a crisis arrives.

By the time my stepsister Heather came into my life at 16, she was already struggling. Her brutal brain-pain and eating disorder stayed with her—and ultimately took her life at 33. As the mom of an 18-year-old myself now, I’m seeing it all over again in teens today—but for this generation, paediatricians are calling it a 'silent epidemic.'

That’s why I’ve taken the first steps to launch Reframe Voices—a grassroots BC-based non-profit focused on helping parents and guardians spot the signs of disordered eating early, so they can begin the necessary and sensitive conversations that pave the way to intervention.

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Why this matters now

Eating disorders are rising fast in children and teens—across all body types, genders, ages, and socio-economic backgrounds.

  • Kids as young as 8 are being hospitalized
  • 21% of 5-year-old girls report worrying about weight
  • Boys, larger-bodied kids, neurodivergent youth, and 2SLGBTQIA+ youth are often missed or misdiagnosed
  • 1.4 million youth in Canada are affected

And we don’t know how many more are struggling in silence.

How many students graduating this year are secretly living with a debilitating eating disorder that affects their mood, memory, focus—even overall brain development?

BC's high school health curriculum offers only a passing mention—if anything at all. That leaves students confused, isolated, and unsure where to turn. Meanwhile, trained experts in child eating disorders remain scarce and costly. And since the pandemic, waitlists for treatment at children’s hospitals have only grown longer.

Parents and guardians of school-aged kids can’t wait for the system to catch up.

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What Reframe Voices will do

Reframe Voices is here to help parents get ahead of the crisis.

We’re focused on families with kids aged 7 to 17, because early signs often show up in puberty—or sooner.

Through interactive workshops, videos, downloadable tools, and partnerships with schools and parent organizations, we’ll educate families how to:

  • Recognize disordered eating and eating disorders, early
  • Respond with compassionate conversations and appropriate intervention
  • Support their child through recovery, without shame

We’re creating tools that meet parents where they’re at—whether they’ve never talked about mental health or just don’t know what to say.

We help parents stay connected—even when their child is pulling away—so silence doesn’t grow into something scarier, like it did for Heather.

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Why I need your help

Reframe Voices is officially registered as a non-profit in BC. But applying for charitable status takes time—up to a year or more.

This GoFundMe will allow us to launch our programming this fall—in time for back-to-school.

Your donation will help fund:

  • Evidence-informed interactive workshops for parents
  • Free tools and easy to follow video guides
  • Outreach to schools, parent groups, and workplaces
  • Early-stage collaboration with researchers and partners in child mental health

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Here’s how you can help:

Help me reach as many people as possible! If just 5,000 people donate $20, we can fund MOST of our first year and start reaching families right away.

  • Any amount helps
  • If you can’t donate, please share (share either way!)
  • If you’re a teacher, parent, or youth ally—follow along and join us

No child should have to fight brain-pain with their stomach.
Let’s reframe the conversation—and protect the next generation.

With deep gratitude,
Penny Greening

P.S. I'll post updates as things progress to let this caring community know once our website and newsletters are fully live.

If you or someone else is thinking of suicide, call 9-8-8: Suicide Crisis Helpline any time for free, confidential support. If someone’s life is in danger, please call 9-1-1 or go with them to your nearest emergency department. Do not leave them alone and try to stay calm until help arrives.
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    Penny Greening
    Organizer
    North Vancouver, BC

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