“Bell Let’s Talk” is more than a hashtag; it’s a movement.
Wednesday marked the ninth annual “Bell Let’s Talk” day, an occasion when millions of people — including celebrities and professional athletes — use social media to share awareness about mental health. Some have also opened up about their own battles with anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, among other diseases.
The annual “Bell Let’s Talk” campaign started in 2010 with an effort by Bell, a Canadian phone company, to spread mental health awareness. One day a year, Bell pledges to donate $0.05 to Canadian mental health initiatives for every text message sent on Bell’s network, every tweet and retweet with the hashtag #BellLetsTalk and every view of the “Bell Let’s Talk” official video on social media. It will also donate for every use of the “Bell Let’s Talk” Facebook profile picture frame or Snapchat filter.
While the initial donation of $0.05 might not seem like a lot, it’s added up significantly over the last nine years.
Since the “Bell Let’s Talk” initiative began, Bell has donated more than $93.4 million to mental health organizations, which in turn has helped more than 6 million people.
The campaign has also spread overall awareness, generating more than 867 million interactions on social media since 2010.
Here are some notable tweets from this year’s campaign:
