The EFL and its Clubs have once again come together with charity partner, Mind, to collective mark World Mental Health Day (Saturday 10 October).
With Mind’s latest research [1] revealing that more than 60% of adults and over two thirds of young people (68%) felt their mental health deteriorated during the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, encouraging conversations around our own mental health and that of others has never been more important.
Mind’s ‘do one thing’ campaign aims to inspire people to make one small change or take one action to look after their mental health. As part of the campaign, EFL Clubs have played their part and done ‘one thing’ to say thank you to someone deserving within their local communities.
The League has also played its part by sending football shirts to the five fans or community participants who took part in a range of activity for the 2019/20 Season Launch. The shirts all feature the words ‘Thank You’ in the EFL and Mind font.
Owen Swift – Middlesbrough AFC
Owen has provided the Club with support and learnings for disabled fans attending fixtures and has worked closely with Level Playing Field over recent years.
He’s regularly been recognised for his community efforts over the past few years.
Bart – Nottingham Forest
Bart is a member of the Forest Forces programme. From socially distanced home visits, online activities and more Nottingham Forest Community Trust have continued to check in on participants throughout lockdown and for the foreseeable.
Forest currently hold the Ministry of Defence Employer Recognition Scheme – Gold Award, recognising the outstanding transferable skills that ex-service personnel can bring to organisations like ourselves.
[1] Mind polled 16,000 people aged 13 and over on the impact of the pandemic on people with mental health problems. Full survey available here