Stephanie Belanger will have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take part in history on Thursday. The social worker from The Hospital for Sick Children is one of 12,000 Canadians carrying the Olympic Flame across the country for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay.

As torchbearer, Stephanie represents more than 100,000 patients treated at the Hospital each year and more than 7,000 staff dedicated to improving the lives of children here in Canada and around the world.

Stephanie left her native city of Montreal to accept a position at SickKids two years ago. She works in the Crisis & Psychosis Program at the Hospital because, like her team, she strongly believes all children deserve a happy childhood free from oppression, blame, shame, stigma and discrimination.

This year, RBC is a Premier National Partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. It is also a longtime supporter of SickKids and in 2007, committed $2 million to further much-needed training, research and outreach for paediatric mental health. When RBC members approached the Department of Psychiatry to elect a torchbearer, Stephanie and her colleagues couldn’t have been more thrilled. They saw this as the perfect opportunity to demonstrate their support for children with mental illness and their families.

On Thursday Stephanie will carry the torch to encourage all young people to strive higher, faster, stronger – no matter the obstacles they face.

Stephanie was interviewed by CTV this week to talk about her leg of the Olympic Torch Relay. Check out the special two-hour broadcast live on CTV tomorrow, December 17, between 5-7 p.m.