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With Bell donating 5 cents for each of your messages, that's
$5,472,585.90 more in funding for Canadian mental health
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More than 3 million tweets made Bell Let's Talk the #1 Twitter trend in
Canada and #3 worldwide
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Clara Hughes and millions of Canadians talked about mental health to
help break the stigma around mental illness - now let's keep the
conversation going!
MONTREAL, Jan. 29, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - A record number of people across
the country, indeed across North America, joined Canadian Olympian and
Bell Let's Talk national spokesperson Clara Hughes and friends in the
conversation to break the stigma and move Canadian mental health
forward. Thanks to your outstanding response - a total of 109,451,718 tweets, texts, calls and shares on Bell Let's Talk Day 2014 - Bell will
donate a further $5,472,585.90 to Canadian mental health programs.
"Thank you everyone! I am just blown away by your incredible support for
those struggling not only with mental illness but also with the stigma
that still surrounds the disease. Talking openly and positively is the
first and most important step we can take in promoting Canada's mental
health," said Clara. "And wow did you talk, beating our target of 100
million messages and driving unprecedented donations to mental health
by Bell. To think how far we've come in 4 years - from minimal
attention to and even fear of discussing mental health to domination of
the conversation. We talked all day, in every way, and we're going to
keep on talking to improve Canada's mental health. I'm looking forward
to the Big Ride!"
"When we embarked on the Bell Let's Talk journey 4 years ago, making
mental health the focus of Bell's investment in the community, the
cause was largely in the shadows. Mental illness just wasn't an issue
corporate Canada talked much about despite the incredible impact of the
disease on individuals, families, workplaces and our national economy,"
said George Cope, President and CEO of Bell Canada and BCE. "Now,
everyone is overwhelmed by how deeply Canadians have embraced the
cause, fighting the stigma by talking openly and positively and driving
new funding for mental health care and research. Thank you Canada -
your participation in Bell Let's Talk Day 2014 brings our total current
Bell Let's Talk commitment to $67,515,875.20."
Bell Let's Talk Day 2014 results:
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Bell Let's Talk Day 2014 resulted in a total of 109,451,718 messages,
including tweets using #BellLetsTalk (3,016,621); Facebook shares (313,151); and
text messages, mobile calls, and long distance calls by Bell and Bell
Aliant customers (106,121,946) - an overall 14% increase over the
96,266,266 messages last year.
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Twitter propelled Bell Let's Talk Day like never before, with
#BellLetsTalk the top Twitter trend yesterday in Canada and #3 in the
world, and topics like mental health also trending throughout the day.
The 3,016,621 tweets and retweets on Bell Let's Talk Day 2014 were 93%
more than the 1,562,485 sent in 2013.
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We thank the hundreds of thousands of Canadians from coast to coast to
coast who supported the cause on Twitter including Governor General
David Johnston, Prime Minister Stephen Harper, leaders of Canada's
political parties and other members of Parliament, provincial premiers
and ministers, mayors and other civic leaders across Canada, hospitals
and universities, the Canadian Armed Forces, Olympians, professional
sports teams and players, major corporations including Bell
competitors, and a broad range of Canadian and U.S. entertainers who
drove hundreds of thousands of retweets from fans. To see a list of
high-profile Bell Let's Talk tweeters, please visit LetsTalk.Bell.ca.
Clara's Big Ride for Bell Let's Talk
Keeping the momentum from Bell Let's Talk Day 2014 rolling, Clara Hughes
will soon set out on Clara's Big Ride for Bell Let's Talk. Supporting
local mental health initiatives by community groups, schools and other
local organizations in every province and territory, Clara's 110-day
journey around Canada by bicycle begins March 14, spans 12,000
kilometres and will visit 95 Canadian communities, concluding in Ottawa
on Canada Day, July 1. For more information, please visit Bell.ca/ClarasBigRide.
Thanks to all our partners
Bell Let's Talk thanks the incredible array of Canadian corporations,
associations and other organizations who helped spread the mental
health message word through media, events and other promotions leading
up to Bell Let's Talk Day:
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Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television
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Banff World Media Festival
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Basketball Canada
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Bell Media
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Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada
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CBS Outdoor
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Calgary Stampede
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Canadian Armed Forces
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Canadian Curling Association
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Canadian Media Production Association
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Canadian Olympic Committee
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Canadian Paralympic Committee
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Canadian Soccer Association
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Cineplex Inc.
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Cogeco/MetroMedia
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Festival d'été de Québec
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Festival International de Jazz de Montréal
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Francofolies
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The Globe and Mail
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Lamar Advertising
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La Presse/Gesca Limitée
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MLSE - Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment
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Monster Media
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Montréal Canadiens
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Montréal en Lumière
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National Basketball Association
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National Hockey League
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National Newswatch
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National Post/Postmedia Network
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Oshawa Generals
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Ottawa Senators
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Pattison Outdoor
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Rogers Communications
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Toronto International Film Festival
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Toronto Maple Leafs
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Toronto Raptors
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Toronto Star/Torstar Corporation
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Twitter Canada
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Vancouver Whitecaps FC
In addition, more than 150 Bell community and mental health partners, as
well as chambers of commerce, colleges and universities across Canada
helped spread the word through events, social media, websites, and
newsletters.
Bell Let's Talk in action
As part of this year's campaign, Bell Let's Talk recently announced 4
new mental health partnerships: A $2.5 million donation for Kids Help
Phone to support the mental health of young people in Canada; the $1
million Bell Canada Chair in Adolescent Mood & Anxiety Disorders at
Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto; $225,000 for the Université Laval
Foundation in Québec City to support student mental health; and, in
partnership with Morneau Shepell and Queen's University, Canada's first
university-certified workplace mental health training program in
support of Canada's National Standard for Psychological Health and
Safety in the Workplace.
The $1-million annual Bell Let's Talk Community Fund provides grants of
$5,000 to $50,000 to local organizations, hospitals and agencies
focused on improving access to mental health care in their communities
in every region of Canada. Applications for the 2014 Fund are now open.
To learn more please visit LetsTalk.Bell.ca.
SOURCE Bell Canada
