When Calgary philanthropists Rick and Julie George first met therapist Lois Sapsford nearly two decades ago, they saw something unique in the city’s mental-health landscape. Sapsford worked with adolescent girls using a methodology based on brain science that was not widely recognized in Calgary. Their support would lead to the creation of Juno House, a therapeutic centre that has impacted the lives of girls, young women and their families for the last 16 years.
The Georges’ journey – and the ongoing support of organizations like the Arnica Foundation – illustrates why corporate and private philanthropy matter deeply in health and wellness. Juno House is a Calgary-built story of innovation, research-informed care and community impact made possible because donors invested in a model filling a critical mental-health gap.
Corporate giving often focuses on return on investment, but research shows supporting community well-being, including mental health, benefits companies. Chelsea Willness, professor of organizational behaviour at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business, notes such practices boost reputation, employee engagement, retention and talent attraction.
“When philanthropy, giving or other forms of outreach are an extension of a company’s values and aligned with their core business model, it makes a clearer business case,” she says. Authenticity is equally important, she adds, especially when initiatives engage directly with community partners or those impacted.
A Therapist with a Vision – And the Philanthropy That Built a Home for It
Sapsford has been a therapist for more than 40 years, focusing on adolescent girls with anxiety-based issues such as depression, self-harm, OCD and eating disorders. Early in her career, she worked with girls experiencing severe trauma, including sexual abuse and involvement in the prostitution trade. Over time, she shifted her focus to understanding the roots of anxiety-driven behaviours through brain development.
“What drove me to open Juno House was this: none of my clients in private practice had traumatic backgrounds,” she says. “None had sexual abuse histories, none lived in violent homes. Yet they were presenting with the same issues.”
This question led her to study brain development across the United States. She returned with a new framework – focusing not on talk therapy but on changing neurological patterns, building self-regulation and involving parents as co-therapists in their daughters’ treatment.
“I created my own way of working, and it began working,” notes Sapsford. “I saw girls walk away from their eating disorders. I saw girls who had been self-harming learn to regulate.”
It was during this phase that she met Rick and Julie. Rick, who led Suncor Energy for 21 years beginning in 1991, passed away in 2017 from complications of acute myeloid leukemia. When they first connected, Sapsford learned their daughter was struggling and that traditional treatment programs hadn’t helped. Working with Sapsford made a noticeable difference.
Julie recalls, “We met Lois, who practiced this therapeutic method, and quickly learned that through her therapeutic practices she could teach adolescent girls certain practices and tools to work through and away from their anxieties.”
Wanting to build on that progress and expand capacity in adolescent mental health, the Georges asked how they could support her. Sapsford told them she needed “a space” – a place to train therapists and offer care rooted in this methodology.
“That’s on us,” they told her.
For Julie, this aligned with the shared philosophy she and Rick held: strengthening access and supports for young people. Their philanthropic vision helped establish an additional foundation to broaden services in Calgary, and reflects what Rick considered a meaningful contribution.
They all agreed they wanted a space intentionally designed for healing. “We had a desire to find a property convenient for adolescent clients and then furnish it in a relaxed, inviting decor with an outdoor space where spiritual grounding supported by healthy practices might take place,” explains Sapsford.
Parents were also integral to Sapsford’s vision, and the Georges embraced that. “We liked the philosophy that within the confines of this ‘house,’ parents would also be given tools to best support their daughter. It would be a therapeutic journey for the family,” George says.
The stakes were high. “The stats around poor self-esteem, suicide rates and anxiety leading to addictions or eating disorders was frightening enough to want to invest in a methodology that supports raising healthy teens,” she says. Six families eventually joined them in training therapists to work at Juno House. Arnica Foundation was established several years later to provide families with funding for therapy, and to train community therapists in treating adolescent girls.
Arnica Foundation: The Philanthropic Engine
While Juno House operates as a private practice, the Arnica Foundation ensures more families, therapists and community members can access the model. Arnica subsidizes therapy for those who need financial support, funds professional development for clinicians and helps grow the therapeutic workforce through a three-year residency Sapsford designed.
“Arnica invests in adolescent girls and young women to help them grow into emotionally strong and powerful women,” says Laurie Goodfellow, an Arnica board member and regional vice-president for RBC Private Banking. “Our goal is to support an increase in therapists and provide resources and education throughout the community. This creates an ecosystem of support around girls and women.”
Goodfellow says Arnica’s commitment goes beyond funding therapy appointments. “Arnica has seen firsthand the transformation that occurs when adolescent girls and women receive specialized therapeutic support,” she says. “Families share stories of girls who arrive overwhelmed, anxious or disconnected and who, through their work at Juno House, rediscover resilience, confidence and a sense of identity.”
Philanthropic support has allowed Juno House to grow its capacity, reduce wait times and strengthen the skills of its clinical team. “Arnica’s financial support has enabled Juno House to expand its therapeutic capacity – both by increasing the number of therapists and by offering professional development that strengthens their clinical skills,” she says. Access remains central. “The foundation believes that emotional health should never depend on a family’s financial circumstances,” she adds.
A Community Ready to Step Up
Sapsford says the partnership between a private clinical model and a charitable foundation has allowed her team to maintain excellence while expanding community impact. She hopes to see more corporate partners join the effort.
“That is where I would love to see corporate Calgary become a partner – supporting Arnica in building a centre of excellence right here,” she says.
Julie believes Calgary is a city built for collaborative philanthropy. “The time is now – each one of you can make a difference in what you want your community to look like,” she says. Her message to the next generation of donors is simple: find the gaps, gather people and act. “Calgarians have a can-do attitude, so if you have an area of interest and you feel there is a void – gather your fresh ideas, don’t be afraid to ask for help and fill the void,” she says.
For her family, long-term investment in mental-health services for youth remains one of the contributions she is most proud of. “My late husband, Rick, was all about community building,” she says. “He’d call that the best investment.”
Why This Model Matters for Corporate Calgary
Willness notes that companies increasingly recognize that mental health – including adolescent and family mental health – directly affects workplace well-being. “When companies put genuine, authentic focus on supporting these initiatives through evidence-informed practices that don’t just come and go with the political winds, that’s a strong statement of their values,” she says.
For businesses seeking social impact, the partnership between Juno House and the Arnica Foundation shows a pathway that is collaborative, measurable and community-rooted.
A Calgary-Made Model with Global Potential
Sapsford’s philosophy is clear: “The world is not good enough; we must make it better.” Training new specialists ensures the work lives on. Families who first walked through Juno House 16 years ago still return when needed, and therapists trained in Sapsford’s model now form a growing specialist network in Calgary.
“Real healing is possible – and we have it here,” she says.
The story of Juno House and Arnica Foundation is ultimately one of vision meeting philanthropy and a community investing in the mental health of its young people. It is a reminder that corporate giving, when aligned with values and driven by authenticity, can change the trajectory of families, communities and futures.