For the upcoming 2015/2016 year the University of Warwick Men’s Cricket Club has, for the first time, a charity sponsorship. At the club we feel very strongly about raising our charitable profile and trying our best to raise awareness of issues that we feel passionately about.
On that note, we have agreed to support male suicide prevention charity, CALM. Suicide is the single biggest killer of men aged under 45 in the UK, and mental health issues affect a large number of young men in the UK, including many of our cricketing heroes. Therefore we are committing our charitable proceeds this year to the Campaign Against Living Miserably, otherwise known as CALM, who work tirelessly to support men in crisis and to challenge the culture which stigmatizes mental health issues.
Hopefully our contributions to this great charity will show our commitment to supporting their cause, and will make a positive impact upon men’s health in the UK. Keep an eye on CALM’s activities via their Facebook and Twitter.
Here’s an excerpt from CALM’s website: “THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST LIVING MISERABLY, or CALM, is a registered charity, which exists to prevent male suicide in the UK. In 2014, male suicide accounts for 76% of all suicides and is the single biggest cause of death in men under 45 in the UK.
We seek to prevent male suicide by:
-Offering support to men in the UK, of any age, who are down or in crisis via our helpline and website.
-Challenging a culture that prevents men seeking help when they need it, see www.yearofthemale.com
-Pushing for changes in policy and practice so that suicide is better prevented via partnerships such as The Alliance of Suicide Prevention Charities (TASC), the National Suicide Prevention Alliance (NSPA). CALM also hosts the Suicide Bereavement Support Partnership (SBSP), which includes Cruse, If U Care Share, Papyrus, SoBS and the Samaritans amongst others. This partnership aims to ensure that everyone bereaved or affected by suicide is offered and receives timely and appropriate support. Its members are working collaboratively to ensure this vision becomes a reality.
OUR VALUES
We believe that if men felt able to ask for and find help when they need it then hundreds of male suicides could be prevented. We believe that there is a cultural barrier preventing men from seeking help as they are expected to be in control at all times, and failure to be seen as such equates to weakness and a loss of masculinity.
We’re a campaign for all men, not just ‘service users’. All of us, at one time or another regardless of gender, will hit a crisis and so we could all do with specialist support when things go wrong.
We aren’t here to represent health professionals or the mental health industry. CALM is about, for and on behalf of men. We use young men’s peers, their voices and interests to reach them. We seek to work with clubs, venues and brands with voices that men respect, feel comfortable with and trust to get our message across.
OUR FUTURE
We want to forge partnerships within music, entertainment, sports and comedy to help us with our promotion and advertising, as well as potential brand partners who can help underpin our campaign. By using music and entertainment to promote our message we create a brand that is attractive to our audience and potential supporters. In return we get a fantastic amount of pro-bono support from talented creative agencies and individuals who collectively help us raise awareness of the issue and our social message.“
If you want any information on CALM feel free to email them at info@thecalmzone.net. Further, if you feel you may need support from CALM please don’t hesitate to ring their hotline (0800 58 58 58).