- Mental Health: Every Action Counts is the theme of the 10th
annual Bell Let's Talk Day and we want to hear your stories and
ideas about creating positive change
- Get engaged on social media, text and talk to lend your support
– and drive Bell's donations to Canadian mental health programs at
no extra cost to you
- Visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk and discover some of the many
organizations making a difference for people living with mental
illness
MONTRÉAL, Jan. 6, 2020 /CNW
Telbec/ - January 29 marks the
10th anniversary of Bell Let's Talk Day, and everyone is
invited to join the world's biggest conversation about mental
health. The theme of this year's Bell Let's Talk Day campaign is
Mental Health: Every Action Counts, and we hope you can join the
discussion about how we can all take action to create positive
change for Canadians who live with mental illness.
"I look forward to joining with Canadians and people around the
world as we celebrate the 10th annual Bell Let's Talk Day and talk
about the actions big and small we can all take to drive positive
change in mental health," said Mirko
Bibic, President and CEO of Bell. "2020 promises to be
another year of progress in Canadian mental health, the first in a
new decade of heightened awareness of the impact of mental illness
and of the opportunities to make a real and enduring
difference."
"Canada has come a long way over the last decade in
de-stigmatizing mental illness and increasing awareness of how it
affects all of us," said Mary
Deacon, Chair of Bell Let's Talk. "We can build on our
progress by focusing on the real-world actions we can all take to
support mental health in our communities, schools and workplaces.
We can learn from trailblazers and from each other about how to
make a difference, as individuals or in groups, for others or for
our own mental health."
Mental Health: Every Action Counts
With a nationwide
multimedia campaign, this year's Bell Let's Talk Day theme
highlights the ways we can convert awareness and acceptance into
action. Whether by institutions or individuals – setting up
one-stop-shops for young people to access mental health, wellness
and social services, organizing your community or team to advocate
for better access to care, supporting someone who struggles with
kind gestures and other support, advocating for a family member,
making your voice heard on social media, or even just taking the
time to care for our own mental health – we can all take action to
support people living with mental illness.
The Bell Let's Talk Day campaign also features the work of 8
outstanding Canadian organizations providing frontline access to
mental health services throughout the country: the Canadian Mental
Health Association, Canadian Red Cross, Foundry, Jack.org, Kids
Help Phone, Revivre, St. John Ambulance and Strongest Families
Institute.
"Kids Help Phone is very proud to be part of this year's Bell
Let's Talk campaign. As one of our Founding Partners, Bell has
supported our work to support young Canadians from the start," said
Katherine Hay, President and CEO of
Kids Help Phone. "Bell Let's Talk has further enabled
Kids Help Phone to deliver critical innovations like 24/7
texting that help kids, teens and young adults access vital mental
health support when they need it."
Bell Let's Talk will also be announcing new funding initiatives
with more partner organizations, as well as the launch of the 2020
Bell Let's Talk Community Fund. The annual program provides grants
up to $25,000 for local and
grassroots mental health initiatives, and has supported 657
organizations in every province and territory since the launch of
the fund in 2011.
Bell Media will also feature special mental health programming
in English and French across its TV, radio and digital properties.
Production is also under way on a primetime CTV Bell Let's Talk Day
feature for January 29, the highlight
of a full day of programming as Bell Media keeps Canadians up to
date on the mental health conversation.
The Bell Let's Talk Day team
Bell Let's Talk is
pleased to welcome the ongoing support of the Friends of Bell Let's
Talk, and our passionate spokespeople whose stories about their own
experiences with mental illness inspire us all. The team includes
Olympian and Bell Let's Talk founding spokesperson Clara Hughes, Howie
Mandel, Marie-Soleil Dion,
Michael Landsberg, Michel Mpambara, Stefie
Shock, Mary Walsh and Étienne
Boulay, as well as community ambassadors pro golfer Andrew Jensen, retired CFL player Shea Emry, veteran Bruno Guévremont, comedian
Jessica Holmes, musician Florence K
and actress Véronique Bannon.
"We have made such tremendous progress over the past 10 years by
talking about mental health and sharing our stories with you," said
Clara. "The momentum we've all created for positive change is truly
amazing, so let's keep it going on Bell Let's Talk Day by talking
about the actions we're all taking to make a difference in the
lives of people who struggle with mental illness."
Join the conversation on Bell Let's Talk Day and make every
action count!
On January 29,
Bell Let's Talk flags will fly all across the country and Canadians
from all walks of life and every corner of the country get engaged
in the mental health conversation. By participating across a wide
range of communications platforms on Bell Let's Talk Day, you also
directly drive Bell's donations to Canadian mental health
programs.
Bell donates 5 cents to Canadian
mental health programs for each of these interactions on Bell Let's
Talk Day, at no cost to participants beyond what they would
normally pay their service providers for online or phone
access:
- Talk: Every mobile and every long distance call made by Bell
wireless and phone customers
- Text: Every text message sent by Bell wireless customers
- Twitter: Every tweet and retweet using #BellLetsTalk, featuring
the special Bell Let's Talk emoji, and every Bell Let's Talk Day
video view at Twitter.com/Bell_LetsTalk
- Facebook: Every Bell Let's Talk Day video view at
Facebook.com/BellLetsTalk and every use of the Bell Let's Talk
frame
- Instagram: Every Bell Let's Talk Day video view at
Instagram.com/Bell_LetsTalk
- Snapchat: Every use of the Bell Let's Talk filter and every
Bell Let's Talk Day video view
- YouTube: Every Bell Let's Talk Day video view at
YouTube.com/BellCanada
Bell Let's Talk Day 2019 generated 145,442,699 messages across
all platforms, growing Bell's funding for mental health by an
additional $7,272,134.95.
Since the first Bell Let's Talk Day in 2011, Canadians and
people around the world have sent a total of more than 1 billion
messages of support for mental health, bringing Bell's total
commitment to $100,695,763.75, which
includes the company's original $50
million anchor donation when Bell Let's Talk launched in
2010.
Already the most-used Canadian hashtag of all time,
#BellLetsTalk was once again the top Twitter trend in Canada and worldwide in 2019, while the Bell
Let's Talk Day video was retweeted more than any other tweet in
Canada.
About Bell Let's Talk
The Bell Let's Talk mental
health initiative is focused on 4 key action pillars: Anti-stigma,
Care and Access, Research and Workplace Leadership. Since its
launch in September 2010, Bell Let's
Talk has partnered with more than 1,000 organizations providing
mental health services throughout Canada, including major donations
to hospitals, universities and other care and research
organizations.
To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.
Media inquiries
Jacqueline Michelis
613 785-1427
jacqueline.michelis@bell.ca
@Bell_News
@Bell_LetsTalk
SOURCE Bell Canada