MONTREAL – Bell will donate a further $6.92 million to Canadian mental health programs after Wednesday’s Bell Let’s Talk Day recorded over 138 million calls, tweets, texts and shares.
From midnight in St. John's, NL to midnight in Victoria, BC on January 31, people in Canada and around the world sent 138,383,995 total messages of support – up over 5% over Bell Let's Talk Day 2017. The total level of engagement means Bell will invest another $6,919,199.75 in mental health programs.
Bell donates 5 cents for each of the following interactions on Bell Let's Talk Day at no extra charge to participants: all texts, mobile calls and long distance calls by Bell customers; tweets using #BellLetsTalk; use of the Bell Let's Talk Facebook frame or Snapchat filter; and views of the Bell Let's Talk video on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.
Social media engagement grew fastest again with total interactions hitting 24,302,727 – an increase of more than 10% from last year. Already Canada's most-used Twitter hashtag ever, #BellLetsTalk was the top Twitter trend in the world again this year. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted support throughout the day along with political leaders from every party, provincial and territorial premiers, mayors, councillors and community leaders. A broad range of high-profile entertainers, athletes and other celebrities in Canada, the United States and worldwide helped spread the mental health message and engage millions of fans and followers in the cause.
As part of this year's campaign, 130 Canadian universities and colleges hosted more than 200 events including varsity and collegiate games to raise awareness of campus mental health – another clear sign of the growing engagement and leadership of Canadian youth in the cause.
"On behalf of everyone on the Bell Let's Talk team, thank you Canada for showing the way in taking mental health forward – like never before!”, said Bell Let's Talk chair Mary Deacon, in the news release. “The growing engagement by Canadians in Bell Let's Talk Day shows that together we're changing attitudes and truly reducing the stigma around mental illness. It's the key to making progress in a critical national health concern."
Bell Let's Talk also offered its thanks to the growing list of organizations involved in promoting mental health and the campaign, including community groups, students and faculty at Canadian universities and colleges, sports teams, business associations, corporations, unions, government, law enforcement and other partners. Platforms include TV, radio, newspaper, out-of-home, digital and cinema advertising, rink boards at major sports arenas, and live and online events throughout the country.
"All of these great organizations recognize that mental health affects us all and we thank them for lending their names and platforms to the cause," added Deacon. "Together with millions of Canadians, we're all fighting the stigma, changing attitudes and letting those who struggle with mental illness know they're not alone."
