![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Jon_Williams_Photo.png\")
<\/a>\u201cThe way that I look at things negatively impacting myself is how do I own them, and how do I then use them as strength to continue?\u201d he says. \u201cI was told everyday, \u2018Oh, come on, smile, why aren\u2019t you smiling? I started this as a reminder to myself to own being told everyday to smile and using that as power… You need to see it and own it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sign-off message quickly turned into a recognizable phrase that radio listeners in greater Victoria have grown attached to. After a couple of years on air, Williams decided to publicly share his story and his sign-off inspiration.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s easy for me to share now, because I\u2019ve spent 20 years going over it and being at ease with it,\u201d he says. \u201cI’m here and I\u2019ve owned it and I\u2019m okay with it. Don\u2019t feel sorry about it; feel inspired by it.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Williams was 10 years old and living in a small town in the south of England he was sexually abused, raped, and nearly drowned. He was misdiagnosed many times with different mental illnesses due to a lack of proper testing or discussion. He now openly tells his story while advocating for mental-health awareness at galas and high schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went on the air and shared about it, then, I suppose, the sign-off really did kick off, and I\u2019ve had people the last two or three years saying \u2018Put it on a shirt.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Several months ago, he asked the community if anyone would be interested in what he\u2019s called his #WilliamsofTs. He immediately received 1,000 pre-orders; over 700 of those orders have been filled, quickly surpassing his initial goal of raising a couple thousand dollars for Foundry, a community-based network of health and social service centres for young people age 12-24 and their families. (Email jon@thezone.fm with the subject line \u201ccharity\u201d for info on buying a shirt.)<\/p>\n
\u201cFoundry caters to so many different people,\u201d Williams says. \u201cIt\u2019s the one-stop hub of awesome for youth that would have been massively impactful and influential to me, because I ran away from home a lot, looking for these kinds of places, couldn\u2019t find them. That\u2019s why it had to be Foundry to donate to first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams says he\u2019s going to put $2,500 to $3,000 of the charity funds directly toward programs supporting 12-to-15-year-olds. He will also be supporting their teen-bonding and friendship-building programs. #WilliamsofTs have been sold to people in India and France, as well as throughout Canada and the US.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Zone 91.3 radio host Jon Williams has raised over $10,000 for local mental-health related charity by creating and selling T-shirts with his radio sign-off slogan printed on them. \u201cThe whole point of what I hope to achieve in radio is to impact and be positive within the community and to lead by example,\u201d says Williams. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18700,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-webexclusive"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t