Mental Health Awareness Month at Sprott Shaw College
At Sprott Shaw College, we inaugurated June as Mental Health Awareness Month to recognize the importance of a healthy mental state for all our staff and students. Throughout the month, we acknowledged and raised funds to support mental health awareness by wearing button pins, hosting bake sales and barbeques for fundraisers, participating in walks to gain support and attention, and hosting a hit list event!
If you’re curious about what we were up to for the past month, then keep reading!
The Story Behind Mental Health Awareness Month
The inception of our Mental Health Awareness Month first began at “Professional Development Day” in 2018 where several staff members asked the organization to place more focus on mental health awareness. And so, this is where the idea of Mental Health Awareness Month was born!
To make this possible, we connected with the Canadian Mental Health Association and launched a “Not Myself Today” program to offer access to mental health resources for our staff and students. The “Not Myself Today” initiative builds greater awareness, reduces stigma, and fosters safe and supportive cultures for everyone to feel comfortable promoting and protecting their mental health.
Mental Health Awareness In Action
With the month of June dedicated to mental health awareness, we implemented several events and fundraisers to support the cause and serve as a communication platform in the spirit of “Reducing the Stigma.” For the fundraiser, we set the collective goal of raising $6,000 among 16 campuses.
As June is now over, we have the final numbers contributed by everyone. With the total count, it is with great pride to announce that we have raised $6,660! This outcome speaks not only to the generosity of our staff and students, but to the determination and altruistic commitment to helping others that we all have. Congratulations staff and students of Sprott Shaw!
Throughout the month, our 16 campuses also participated in several events that brought awareness and attention to mental health. Check out our gallery below to see what some of our campuses were up to.
Students and staff alike proudly participated and wore their Mental Health Awareness buttons to show their support for the cause.
Our Seymour
campus participated in a Vancouver Tour to raise awareness and funds to support
the cause.
Last, but
certainly not least, our East Vancouver campus knocked it out of the park with
a Mental Health Walk and Hit List for some of the instructors and other staff
members. The Hit List featured “rewards” if enough money was raised for each listing.
While these “rewards” weren’t rewarding for those on the hit list, it was
certainly entertaining for all the students and staff who got to witness the
event.
Needless to
say, Mental Health Awareness Month was a great success at Sprott Shaw thanks to
all the staff and students who participated and donated! We couldn’t have done
it without you.
Even though
June has ended, keep in mind that your own mental health is important so be
sure to take care of it. As a student, you can also get help 24/7.
Download the
free Student Support Program (SSP app) or call toll free at 1.855.649.8641.
