Canada West Communications

Highlights:

• With Bell Let’s Talk Day scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 31, Canada West members are set to continue to highlight the importance of mental health with Let’s Talk events this weekend
• 2018 marks the second year CW and its members have partnered with Bell to bring attention to mental health on campuses across Western Canada
• Bell has expanded their campus initiative this year, reaching more than a million students on 128 campuses nationwide 

EDMONTON – For the second consecutive year, all 17 Canada West members are proud to participate in Bell Let’s Talk, which strives to spark the conversation about mental health. 

With Bell Let’s Talk day set for Wednesday, Jan. 31, Canada West members will host Bell Let’s Talk events this weekend across the conference, with most games slated for Friday, Jan. 26 and Saturday, Jan. 27.

The events will help student-athletes continue their leadership role on campus in the fight to end the stigma around mental health.

Click here to view the CW Bell Let's Talk video

Canada West’s involvement in Bell Let’s Talk is part of a broader initiative in 2018 to reach even more campuses across the country. A total of 128 campuses nationwide are involved, representing a student population of more than a million. 

Moving into the broader campus community, the campaign builds on the success of 2017's university initiative when more than 20,000 student-athletes from 53 universities led the campus mental health conversation at more than 100 university sports events leading up to Bell Let's Talk Day.

"The student-athlete initiative clearly showed that mental health is a priority for students on Canadian campuses. This year, we're building on that momentum as we expand the conversation to 128 universities and colleges throughout the country," said Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let's Talk. "On January 31, we encourage all students around the country to join in, share their own stories and help fight the stigma around mental illness." 

For more on Bell Let’s Talk, please visit  Bell.ca/LetsTalk

2018 Canada West Bell Let’s Talk Events

Friday, Jan. 12

Regina at UBC / women’s hockey

Friday, Jan. 26

Saskatchewan at Brandon / women’s (12 p.m. CT) and men’s (2 p.m. CT) basketball

UBC Okanagan at Saskatchewan / women’s (6 p.m. CT) and men’s (8 p.m. CT) volleyball

Regina at Manitoba / men's hockey (7 p.m. CT)

Regina at MacEwan / women’s (6 p.m. MT) and men’s (8 p.m. MT) volleyball

Thompson Rivers at Trinity Western / women’s (6 p.m. PT) and men’s (8 p.m. PT) basketball

Lethbridge at Alberta / women’s hockey (7 p.m. MT)

Calgary at Mount Royal / women’s hockey (7 p.m. MT)

Alberta at Lethbridge / men’s hockey (7 p.m. MT)

Saturday, Jan. 27

Winnipeg at Regina / women’s (6 p.m. CT) and men’s (8 p.m. CT) basketball

Lethbridge at Calgary / women’s (5 p.m. MT) and men’s (7 p.m. MT) basketball

Calgary at Thompson Rivers / women’s (5 p.m. PT) and men’s (6:45 p.m. PT) volleyball

UBC at UBC Okanagan / women’s (5 p.m. PT) and men’s (7 p.m. PT) basketball

Fraser Valley at UNBC / women’s (5 p.m. PT) and men’s (7 p.m. PT) basketball

Mount Royal at Victoria / women’s (6 p.m. PT) and men’s (8 p.m. PT) basketball

Sunday, Jan. 28

Fraser Valley Cascades Invitational / men’s and women’s wrestling (9 a.m. PT) 

Saturday, Feb. 3

UBC Okanagan at Winnipeg / women’s (5 p.m. CT) and men’s (7 p.m. CT) basketball

Bell Let's Talk Day is January 31

We invite everyone to join the mental health conversation on Bell Let's Talk Day. Bell will donate 5 cents to Canadian mental health programs for each of these interactions on January 31, at no extra cost to participants:

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

Bell Let's Talk Day 2017 set all new records with 131,705,010 messages, growing Bell's funding for Canadian mental health by $6,585,250.50. #BellLetsTalk was Canada's top hashtag in 2017, and is now the most used Twitter hashtag ever in Canada.

With approximately 729,065,654 interactions by Canadians over the last 7 Bell Let's Talk Days, Bell's total commitment to mental health, including an original $50-millionanchor donation in 2010, has risen to $86,504,429.05. Bell expects its donation commitment to reach at least $100 million in 2020.