Bell Let’s Talk Day 2017 is January 25!

• On Bell Let’s Talk Day, everyone can talk, text and join in on social media to help end the stigma around mental illness and drive action in Canadian mental health
• Send a Bell Let’s Talk message of support on January 25 and Bell donates 5 cents more to mental health programs; let’s beat 2016’s record 126M messages and $6.3M Bell donation
• Social media engagement expands to Instagram and Snapchat in addition to Twitter and Facebook; #BellLetsTalk was Canada’s #1 Twitter hashtag in 2016
• This year’s campaign highlights the impact of mental illness on everyone; Clara Hughes, and the Bell Let’s Talk team talk in depth about their personal experiences
• Learn 5 simple ways to help end stigma; download the Bell Let’s Talk toolkit at Bell.ca/LetsTalk

Instagram and Snapchat: New ways to join the conversation
Bell Let’s Talk Day donations are fully funded by Bell directly based on engagement by Canadians in the cause. Bell donates 5 cents to Canadian mental health programs for each of these interactions on Bell Let’s Talk Day at no extra charge to participants:

• Every text message, mobile and long distance call made by Bell Canada and Bell Aliant customers.
• Twitter: Every tweet using #BellLetsTalk
• Facebook: Every view of the Bell Let’s Talk Day video at Facebook.com/BellLetsTalk
• Instagram: Every post using #BellLetsTalk
• Snapchat: Every use of the Bell Let’s Talk Snapchat geofilter

“Mental health is everyone’s concern and it’s incredible to see how many people are talking about the issue, spreading understanding and support for all those who live with mental illness in their lives,” said Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let’s Talk. “Social media has been a critical part of the ongoing growth in Bell Let’s Talk engagement here in Canada but also worldwide, underlining the strong desire everywhere for action in mental health. With the incredible success of the campaign on Twitter and Facebook, we’re very pleased to add Instagram and Snapchat to the many ways you can engage in 2017.”

In Twitter’s annual Top 10 list, #BellLetsTalk was the most used Twitter hashtag in Canada in all of 2016 (#MentalHealth was #7), and the most used in the world on Bell Let’s Talk Day 2016.

Bell Let’s Talk Day 2016 set new records for participation with 125.9 million messages of support, growing Bell’s funding for Canadian mental health by $6,295,764.75. With approximately 598,383,571 such interactions by Canadians over the last 6 Bell Let’s Talk Days, Bell’s total commitment to mental health, including an original $50-million anchor donation, has climbed to $79,919,178.55 – well on the way to Bell’s target of at least $100 million by the end of 2020.

5 simple ways to help end the stigma
You can help end the stigma with 5 simple ways developed by Dr. Heather Stuart, the Bell Mental Health and Anti-Stigma Research Chair at Queen’s University:

• Language matters – pay attention to the words you use about mental illness
• Educate yourself – learn, know and talk more, understand the signs
• Be kind – small acts of kindness speak a lot
• Listen and ask – sometimes it’s best to just listen
• Talk about it – start a dialogue, break the silence

To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.