Chairman of the Western League, John Pool, explained: “Many people are still working through the loneliness and anxiety caused by lockdown and we must not forget that our players are no different. They are as important to us as any members of our football family and this important partnership with Bath Mind is our way of supporting them.”
In addition to the changing room posters, Bath Mind provided leaflets and programme adverts for fans, highlighting the variety of support services available to them.
Hannah Roper, Director of Business Development at Bath Mind, said: “We at Bath Mind are thrilled to be working in partnership with the Toolstation Western League, to support and promote positive mental health for the football community…Through this pilot we hope to encourage everyone to talk about their mental health, seek help at an early stage and reduce the stigma associated with mental ill-health.”
As well as regular bucket collections at matches over the past few months, Western League held a successful charity day at Odd Down in April which raised over £500 for Bath Mind. In total, the Bath Mind Toolstation Western League partnership raised over £1,200.
Ian Nockolds, Communications Officer for the Toolstation Western League added: “The Non-League community pride ourselves on being a football family, which is why the support services offered by organisations like Bath Mind are such an important part of keeping that family safe and well.”
Following on from this successful pilot partnership, the Toolstation Western League plan to extend this campaign across all of its forty member clubs, starting with similar initiatives in Somerset and Wiltshire.