MRK 634 SDD digest #1

1. Bell
Let’s
Talk Day
• BY ABDIRIZAK SHURIYE
• DIGITAL DIGEST #1
• MRK634SDD

2. The Story
Behind It
• The main message involves combating
the stigma around mental health
• Bell Let's Talk launched in September
2010 as a 5-year, $50 million program
to help create a stigma-free Canada
and drive action in mental health care,
research and the workplace
• 24 Hr Campaign where Bell donates 5¢
to mental health initiatives for every
applicable text; call; tweet and retweet
using #BellLetsTalk;
• George Cope was the catalyst for the
Bell Let’s Talk initiative. He was Bell’s
CEO from 2008-2020

3. Bell Let’s Talk 4 Pillars
Anti-Stigma
• By promoting awareness and
understanding around a
sensitive topic, Bell is combating
the most difficult hurdle; the
stigma.
• 2022 saw a record
164,298,820 messages of
support for mental health
• Resulting in a total of
$8,214,941 in Bell funding to
mental health initiatives in
Canada.
Care & Access
• Bell supports & invests in
many mental health
organizations, local hospitals
and grass root agencies
• Bell partnered with Graham
Boeckh Foundation for
mental health service hubs
across Canada for the youth
named ‘Integrated Youth
Services’
Dedicated to moving mental health forward in Canada, Bell Let’s Talk promotes
awareness and action with a strategy built on 4 key pillars:
Research
• Bell invests in research
projects in efforts to have
transformative impact on the
mental health for Canadians
• $2 million to fund the world’s
first university chair in mental
health and anti-stigma
research at Queen’s
University
• $1 million to fund Canada’s
first biobank of biological,
social and psychological data
at a University in Montréal,
Quebec
Workplace
Leadership
• 1 in 3 workplace
disability claims in
Canada are related to
mental illnesses
• Since 2010, more than
18,000 Bell employees
and 13,000 Bell
leaders, have
completed mental
health training
• Short term disability
claims related to mental
illnesses has decreased
over 20% due to Bell’s
initiatives

4. Results and Impacts
• Since the campaign launched in 2010, there has
been an upwards trend in number of interactions
year to year.
• 81% of Canadians say they are more aware of
mental health issues than 5 years ago, 70%
believe attitudes have improved, 57% believe
stigma has been reduced
• Bell Let’s Talk has partnered with more than
1,300 organizations who have supported 5
million Canadians with access to mental health
services

5. My Point of
View (POV)
• Growing up, talking openly about one’s mental
health was considered a strange action. With
one of Canada’s largest communications
company bringing mental health at its forefront
and viewing it in a positively light is remarkable
• Instead of evading the topic of mental health,
Bell has made many Canadians across the
country embrace it and celebrate individual
differences.
• Bell Let’s Talk Day is a gentle reminder to
everyone that we all come from unique
backgrounds and cultures and to foster positive
change for mental health issues.

6. REFERENCES
• Haggart, Laura. “#Bellletstalk: Q&A with George Cope, HBA '84.” Ivey Business School, Ivey
Business School, 30 Jan. 2019,
https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/news/news-ivey/2019/1/bellletstalk-qa-with-george-cope-hba-84/.
• Michelis, Jacqueline. “Bell Let's Talk initiative extended a further 5 years, Bell increases Canadian
mental health funding commitment to $100 million”. 20. Mar. 2020.
https://bce.ca/news-and-media/releases/show/bell-let-s-talk-initiative-extended-a-further-5-years-bell-
increases-canadian-mental-health-funding-commitment-to-100-million-2
• N/A. Bell “Our Initatives” 2021.
https://letstalk.bell.ca/en/our-initiatives/