Canada’s largest charity walk for children and youth is happening in 17 communities across the country this weekend.

St. John’s is one of the cities taking part in the BMO Walk So Kids Can Talk to support Kids Help Phone.

Allison Fitzgerald, development officer, Regional Philanthropy and Partnerships – Eastern Canada at Kids Help Phone, says demand on their service has increased significantly over the past few years. She says anxiety and stress account for about 40 per cent of the interactions between counsellors and clients.

In 2023 alone, they had over 4 million interactions with youth across Canada. To put that in context, in 2019, there were about 1.9 million interactions as demand continues to grow every single day. Fitzgerald says since the pandemic, they have supported youth about 19 million times.

Registration for the walk takes place Sunday beginning at 11:00 at the Bowring Park Bungalow and the walk itself starts at noon.