The University of Guelph-Humber community recently marked Bell Let’s Talk Day, with hundreds of students, staff and faculty making their voices heard as part of the national campaign focused on raising awareness and generating funding for mental health.
For the second consecutive year, UofGH joined with roughly 200 other post-secondary institutions across the country to invite its students, staff and instructors to be a part of the world’s biggest mental health conversation.
“This is my second year helping run Bell Let’s Talk and I think it is so important that post-secondary intuitions show their support for mental health initiatives and that we support post-secondary students who need help with their mental health,” said Jamie-Margarette Vergara, Communications and Public Relations Assistant.
“If even just one student walked away from the event today more aware of support services and more open to having discussions about mental health, then I say that our UofGH Let's Talk Events were a success.”
Opening the conversation
Since launching in September 2010, the Bell Let’s Talk campaign has brought together more than 900 partner organizations providing mental health services throughout Canada. The campaign has led to more than $100 million in donations to mental health initiatives.
Over three days at the University of Guelph-Humber, students and other community members took part in a bevy of events and activities relating to wellness, including stress-ball making, mandala colouring and prize giveaways.
In total, the #UofGHLetsTalk banner received 274 signatures over a three-day period while more than 174 speech bubbles were submitted. The UofGH community also stopped to pose by a selfie station – with the option to share the snaps on social media and generate a donation from Bell to support mental health initiatives – and to jot down a meaningful message on a discussion wall. Many staff around UofGH also decorated their doors with personal messages of wellness.
Meanwhile, a Mental Wellbeing Roundtable Talk and Panel found University of Guelph-Humber Psychology instructor Dr. Amanda Wintink and UofGH alumna Randi-Mae Stanford-Leibold discussing mindfulness techniques and answering questions relating to wellness and self-care practices.
