Brie-lliant Boxes founder donates business proceeds to mental health

Jul 21, 2022

Halifax/Kjipuktuk – Rachel Creighton graduated from McMaster University at the height of the pandemic. Shortly after she began to feel her mental health deteriorate. 

As a person living in recovery, she knew it was critical to her mental health that she seek connection and support. With encouragement from her loved ones she decided to found Brie-lliant Boxes, a custom charcuterie board prep company that allowed her to combine her passion for creating beautiful boards and support community-based mental health by donating proceeds from each sale. 

For each board she sold, Rachel allocated 100 per cent of the proceeds to the Canadian Mental Health Association Nova Scotia Division.

Read her story below.

“Sixty-eight pounds,”  the doctor announced uneasily as 16-year-old Rachel Creighton stood, quivering on the the scale. Rachel’s visit to her doctor was set up by her parents, who were concerned after noticing drastic changes in Rachel’s mood, personality and appearance following the loss of a close relative.

“I laid in a hospital bed, withering away, but in complete denial of the fact that I had an eating disorder. My obsession with unattainable perfection robbed me of precious moments to grow and find my identity.”

While in treatment, she found a brochure for the Canadian Mental Health Association and was inspired to start a mental health support group she called This Mind of Mine to encourage her peers to have healthy conversations about their mental health.

“Healing from an eating disorder, or any mental illness, can be as stigmatized in discussion as acknowledging the problem itself, so people often struggle in silence with the hope of someone reaching an outstretched a hand: a lifeline.”

She graduated from McMaster University during the height of the pandemic, and began to feel her mental health starting to deteriorate.

“My resilience was challenged and I knew that so many others were silently struggling as well,” she recalls. “I wanted to do something that allowed me to give back and support my own mental health.”

That’s when the concept for her custom charcuterie board prep company, Brie-lliant Boxes, was born.

Founded less than one year ago, Brie-lliant Boxes gave her an opportunity combine her passion for creating beautiful boards with her desire to support community-based mental health by donating proceeds from each sale.

For each board she sold, Rachel allocated 100 per cent of the proceeds to the Canadian Mental Health Association Nova Scotia Division.

On June 22, she presented CMHA NS Executive Director Karn Nichols with the total proceeds she earned since she opened Brie-lliant Boxes, $5,856.38.

When asked what inspired her generosity, Rachel said simply, my resilience is what I consider my strongest quality and getting the support I needed helped me build that. I want to do that for as many people as I can, and if this donation does that through CMHA, I’m happy.”

Rachel begins medical school in August and will put Brie-lliant Boxes on the back burner while she focuses on her education. She intends to continue to support mental health and hopes to stay involved with CMHA NS.

*** If you think or know that someone you care about has an eating disorder, there is help. Contact Eating Disorders Nova Scotia or our Find Help page. 

CMHA NS is a not-for-profit charitable organization that delivers mental health supports, free of cost to anyone who needs them.

Mental health has a significant impact on how people relate to others, make decisions, and handle stress. Those who choose to support CMHA NS understand that ensuring individuals experience good mental health is good for entire communities.

Their dedication to community, their generosity and unwavering support, inspires us every day. To donate to CMHA NS, visit www.canadahelps.org

To learn more about CMHA NS programs, read our 2022 Impact Report.

To learn more about how you can fundraise for CMHA NS, contact: Erin Christie, Provincial Lead, Communications and Community Engagement, CMHA NS at [email protected]