- Total talk, text and social media interactions increased 3.1%
over last year, reflecting a heightened focus on mental health as
we all confront the impacts of COVID-19
- #BellLetsTalk was once again the top Twitter trend in
Canada and worldwide
- At 5 cents per message, Bell is
donating an additional $7,958,671.75
to mental health; Bell's total funding commitment now stands at
$121,373,806.75, on track to our
$155 million target
MONTRÉAL, Jan. 29, 2021 /CNW
Telbec/ - Now more than ever, every action counts in mental health.
And the count is in: Canadians and people around the world set
all-new records for engagement in the mental health conversation on
Bell Let's Talk Day 2021, sharing 159,173,435 messages of support
and driving $7,958,671.75 in new
mental health funding by Bell.
"Thank you to everyone who joined in on Bell Let's Talk Day to
keep Canada's mental health moving forward," said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of Bell Canada and BCE. "Once again we led the
world in talking openly and honestly about mental health and all
the ways we can make a difference for people living with mental
illness. As we face the added mental health impacts of the COVID
crisis, your action is appreciated now more than ever."
"On behalf of the Bell Let's Talk team across Canada, thank you
for making your actions count this Bell Let's Talk Day," said
Mary Deacon, Chair of the Bell Let's
Talk initiative. "We've made incredible strides in mental health
awareness and action over the last 11 years, and the challenges of
COVID-19 reinforce that we need to keep building on what we've
accomplished together. Your incredible support sends a strong
signal that mental health matters, and means more Canadians will
get better access to the care they need."
From midnight Newfoundland time
to midnight Pacific time there were
159,173,435 eligible Bell Let's Talk communications, up
3.1% year over year. Social media engagement – hashtags,
filters, frames and video views on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest,
Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube – reached 42,688,092
interactions, with #BellLetsTalk once again the top Twitter trend
in Canada and worldwide.
People around the world watched the entertaining Bell Let's Talk
Day videos from singer-songwriter Michael Bublé and comedian Maxim
Martin on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok,
Twitter and YouTube, with each view counting toward Bell's
donations to mental health.
Leaders taking action to support mental health
Leaders
and influencers in Canada and
around the world also added their voices to the day, including
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau,
federal, provincial and territorial leaders across all parties,
local leaders, sports teams, associations and athletes, government
departments, the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted
Police, major Canadian corporations, healthcare leaders, unions,
students and educators, entertainers and celebrities, as well as
hundreds of Bell Let's Talk partners around Canada. Please visit
Bell.ca/LetsTalk to see highlights.
Thanks to the Bell Let's Talk team!
A big thank you to
everyone on the Bell Let's Talk team for continuing to share their
personal stories, including the Friends of Bell Let's Talk and
our Bell Let's Talk spokespeople Clara
Hughes, Michael Landsberg,
Howie Mandel, Mary Walsh, Stefie
Shock, Michel Mpambara,
Marie-Soleil Dion and Étienne
Boulay, our community ambassadors pro golfer Andrew Jensen, CFL veteran Shea Emry, Veteran Bruno Guévremont, actress
Jessica Holmes, musician Florence K,
actress Véronique Bannon, and
author and media personality Joanie
Gonthier.
Bell Let's Talk Day virtual events across Canada
With
COVID-19 restrictions still in force, Canadians found new ways to
take part in Bell Let's Talk Day activities and grow the mental
health conversation. Virtual events brought people together from
every corner of the country to share their messages of
support. More than 200 universities and colleges took part in
this year's Bell Let's Talk Campus Campaign, which featured a
digital toolkit to ensure post-secondary institutions could safely
engage students across the country.
Communities and partners raised the Bell Let's Talk flag all
around Canada, including Canadian Armed Forces members at CFS Alert
near the North Pole, those serving overseas in Latvia and sailors onboard the deployed HMCS
Halifax (as well as support from Navy divers beneath the waves at
CFB Halifax and other military units and individuals across
the country).
New Bell Let's Talk projects
In the lead up to Bell
Let's Talk Day 2021 almost $7 million
in new funding for mental health projects was announced:
- $2.5 million to launch the Bell
Let's Talk Post-Secondary Fund to support Canadian colleges and
universities in implementing the National Standard of Canada for
Mental Health and Well-Being for Post-Secondary Students
- A $2 million donation, matched by
the Government of Canada, to the Brain Canada Foundation for the
Bell Let's Talk-Brain Canada Mental Health Research Program to
accelerate Canadian brain research
- $1 million in grants from the
Bell Let's Talk Diversity Fund to 8 organizations supporting the
mental health and well-being of Black, Indigenous and People of
Colour (BIPOC) communities in Canada
- A $500,000 donation to Jack.org
to expand the reach of Jack Chapters in hundreds of communities
around the country and support youth mental health
- A $420,000 donation to the QEII
Foundation in Halifax to support
new repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) clinics at
the Nova Scotia Hospital and Valley Regional Hospital
- A $300,000 donation to CHU
Sainte-Justine Foundation's intensive ambulatory care program for
teenage patients being treated for an eating disorder
As part of this year's campaign, Bell Let's Talk also partnered
with United Way/Centraide Canada to provide 11,000 mobile devices
and SIM cards to charitable organizations to help those in the
greatest need stay connected.
Support for BIPOC communities
In addition to
the Bell Let's Talk Diversity Fund grants announced in
January, Bell Let's Talk presented two webinars, hosted in English
by Queen's University and in French by McGill
University and Montréal's Jewish General Hospital, featuring
discussions about mental health in diverse communities. More than
1,300 participants took part.
McGill, The Neuro (Montréal
Neurological Institute-Hospital) and the Lady Davis Institute at
the Jewish General also launched the Multicultural Mental Health
Resource Centre to help support mental health and COVID-19 in
diverse communities.
The Bell Let's Talk Community Fund
The $2 million Bell Let's Talk Community Fund, which
supports local mental health charities throughout Canada, is now
also open for applications. Registered charities are invited to
apply for a grant of up to $25,000.
Since 2011, the Bell Let's Talk Community Fund has supported almost
800 local and grassroots mental health organizations all across the
country. To apply for funding, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.
Bell Media specials about mental health
In This
Together: A Bell Let's Talk Day Special, hosted by Etalk's
Tyrone Edwards and The Social's
Melissa Grelo, aired in primetime
last night on CTV, CTV2 and Crave and is now available on CTV.ca,
the CTV app and on Crave where viewers can also watch previous
Bell Let's Talk Day specials. The special will re-air on
Saturday, January 30 at 8pm ET/PT on CTV.
The French-language documentary La santé mentale : une note à la
fois, following the stories of musicians Steve Veilleux, Laurence
Jalbert and Safia Nolin, and
featuring slam poet David
Goudreault, aired on Canal D, Canal Vie and VRAK. The
documentary is now available at Noovo.ca, vrak.tv, Crave,
CanalVie.com and CanalD.com.
To learn more about Bell Let's Talk, please visit
Bell.ca/LetsTalk.
Media inquiries
Jacqueline Michelis
613-785-1427
jacqueline.michelis@bell.ca
@Bell_LetsTalk
@Bell_News
SOURCE Bell Canada