Mid December saw Chelsea FC teamed up with its shirt sponsor ‘Three’ to launch a fresh cause initiative aimed at encourage fans to ‘support someone else’ this Christmas.
Leveraging the season of good will, the campaign urges the club’s supporters to take a little time out during the festive season to reach out to friends, family and loved ones to help overcome the challenges of loneliness, isolation and mental health issues.
It aims to help shine a light on the feelings of loneliness and isolation, as well as other mental health issues, that can impact men and women, young and old.
‘Support Someone Else’ also involves telco Three’s mental health charity partner ‘Time to Change’: a non-profit which offers support and guidance to those tackling or experiencing loneliness.
Three, with help from Lampard and Hayes, are encouraging everyone to reach out, pick up the phone and provide support to people you might not even realise are struggling. Whether it is a phone call, a text or just messaging someone privately instead of on a group chat, taking a couple of minutes to check if someone is okay could make all the difference.
The campaign revolves around a microsite at https://supportsomeoneelse.co.uk/ and kicked-off with a pair of hero social spots fronted by club legend and manager Frank Lampard and women’s team manager Emma Hayes.
— Three UK (@ThreeUK) December 17, 2020
‘This year has been tough for everyone and while Christmas is a happy time for some, for others it can be incredibly difficult,’ said Lampard. ‘People may be struggling with their mental health and can often feel isolated and alone. Think about who this might be in your life. Your dad who lives on his own, your friend that’s gone quiet on the group chat, your team-mate that doesn’t seem themselves. This Christmas you can make a difference by Supporting Someone Else.’
The initiative follows a recent report from the charity which showed that on average men in the UK have three fewer people in their support network since the start of the pandemic. Some men said that one of the reasons behind this was an inability to meet face-to-face at social events like football match. Something which has having a negative effect on their mental health.
According to a recent report from the Office for National Statistics, the impact of loneliness across all genders and ages reached record levels as we entered the winter months of lockdown, with 4.2 million people in the UK judged to be experiencing high levels of loneliness.
“Christmas is all about giving back and helping others. This year has been so hard for many different reasons, with most of us having life as we know it turned on its head. Christmas in itself is going to be so different and it’s a time that can often magnify solitude and mental health issues,” said Three UK Marketing Director Aislinn O’Connor.
“As a brand with connectivity at its heart, we wanted to drive a clear message for us all to reach out and support one another this Christmas. Make that call you’ve been meaning to make. Send that message. Check-in on others. It may just be a small gesture but it could make all the difference.”
To launch the initiative, Chelsea managers Frank Lampard and Emma Hayes sent an appeal to football fans nationwide to back the campaign, encouraging fans of all teams to start a more meaningful conversation and stay connected over the festive period.
Chelsea CEO Guy Laurence added: “We loved this idea from the moment Three started discussing it with us and we’re proud that our teams and managers will be championing the idea to ‘Support Someone Else’. Everyone has had their struggles this year. While there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel, we need to continue to support each other as much as we can. Christmas will be different for us all, but both ourselves and Three want to do all we can to encourage our fans and the football community to get behind this initiative and support each other more than ever during this festive period.”
Comment:
Through the pandemic period, Chelsea has been part of several initiatives aimed to tackling stigma around mental health and which emphasised the importance of talking about it. Players including Ben Chilwell, Mason Mount, Millie Bright and Fran Kirby have been involved in club initiatives.
This campaign follows on from new shirt sponsor Three’s debut campaign leveraging its new partnership with Chelsea with a ‘WhatsApp Virtual Shirt Launch’ and ‘Connect The Game’.
The mental health and loneliness initiative also echoes some of the other brilliant initiatives by sports clubs in recent months such as Cadbury and Manchester United’s ‘Share Your Words’ initiative with Age UK.
Links:
Three
Chelsea FC
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