Jonny O Memorial Fundraiser Game
I am seeking donations regarding my older brother Jonathon David Ogden.
My dear brother Jonathon Ogden was an incredibly talented athlete.
Jon won MVP at Saint Theresa’s Catholic Secondary school for three years- and Belleville's athlete of the year two years in a row. He was also an extremely successful member of the Belleville spirits basketball squad, who won numerous tournaments.
Jonathan was heavily recruited by numerous Canadian Universities and Colleges, but eventually chose to take his talents to Kingston on a scholarship to Queens University, which was close to home and family.
While at Queens he received the rookie of the
year award for the eastern division for basketball. Many thought him destined to be pro, and it was
his dream.
Jon excelled at all sports but basketball was his
passion. Even after his competitive playing days ended he continued to take good care of his physical fitness and remained in excellent physical shape. He was more than a talented athlete - he was a kind, funny, charismatic and thoughtful young man. To know him was to love him. His guy friends were so loyal and he drove the girls crazy (always the gentleman but still broke hearts!).
He continued to be passionate about sports long after highschool and university.He followed the Raptors religiously and was overjoyed when they won this year.
Jon later became a talented driller and was well respected in his job. He became a leader working for the company Berkle in the Washington DC area, and was often requested by his employer to train new drillers. He was a macho man with an incredibly huge and soft heart.
While attending University, Jonathan was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Unfortunately for years he didn’t feel comfortable enough with his condition to tell anyone outside his immediate family. His worst fear for years was to have someone outside his family know about his condition.
Even with the love and support of family and a very few close friends whom he did end up telling towards the end, he still never truly accepted his illness and felt a great deal of shame and internalized stigma.
Despite our best efforts to support Jon-he lost his battle with bipolar on July 11, 2019 at the age of 31. My life and the lives of my family members are forever changed.
Since that time, although we are still so raw and shocked, we have come together with some of his former high school basketball coaches and are organizing a buy out game for December 17th 2019 at St.Theresa’s between St. T’s and Nicholson Catholic College.
This event will be to raise awareness of youth and particularly young men’s mental health and to raise money for our local branch of the Canadian mental health association.
We feel a great need to do our part to end the stigma associated with mental health.
We feel if Jon had only felt that his illness wasn’t shameful and something to hide- that he would still be here today.
We feel that in his position in life, seemingly on the outside a very strong "mans man”, who was seemingly healthy, vibrant and successful young man both as a driller and in his younger days playing ball- that he could be a face of mental health for youth and young men struggling. Who are afraid to admit their illness because they may be looked at as weak.
We want Jon’s story to help end the stigma, and this basketball game is a part of that.
Many Young men often don’t want to admit they need help, especially those young men who are looked at as strong leaders and athletes like Jonathan was. But this stigma needs to change. It is costing lives.
We hope our basketball game and Jon’s story will raise awareness amongst the youth that sick doesn’t mean weak. That it is okay not to be okay all the time. And that getting the proper support and help is okay. It doesn’t make you weak. In fact it demonstrates great strength to seek and accept help.
We would be honoured if you would consider being a part of our fight against this stigma, by providing a donation to our basketball game in Jon’s honour and the fight against mental health stigma.
With your donation we feel we could provide an exciting and important event, while educating all involved the seriousness around the mental health stigma we face today.
We would like to supply t-shirts, water bottles, and resources for the athletes and the students involved in support of ending the mental health stigma, in honour of Jonathan and other athletes like him.
We hope the youth who see Jon's pictures and hear his story, the Jonathan who was so strong and so successful, who was a respected leader in high school and after, if he had bipolar, that anyone can be affected by mental illness.
Our hope is that the students who watch these young men participating in this basketball game, will realize that if these young leaders on the basketball teams support mental health, maybe it is okay- not to be okay.
At the end of the game, a donation will be made to our local branch of the Canadian mental health association where there is a great need for our assistance.
We want to raise awareness and education that helps end the stigma, and it starts with our youth.
Thank you for taking the time to read Jon’s story; and for any donation, big or small, you can offer.
Sincerely,
The Ogden family
Here is our beloved brothers obituary:
https://memorial.rushnellfamilyservices.com/book-of-memories/3922646/Ogden-Jonathon/
