The Camosun College Athletics department invites students, employees and fans to attend their Chargers Volleyball games on Friday, Jan. 24 to cheer on the teams and Make Some Noise in the nation-wide campaign to break the stigma surrounding mental health!
Now in its fourth year at Camosun, the Make Some Noise for Mental Health campaign is part of a long-term outreach initiative across the Canadian Collegiate Athletics Association (CCAA), espousing three primary goals:
- To reduce/eliminate the stigmas related to mental health, wellness and mental illness.
- To create awareness about local mental health resources on campus and the surrounding community.
- To encourage empathy and understanding through open-minded conversations about mental health.
Supporting the Make Some Noise event, is 2017 CCAA Women’s Volleyball National Silver Medalist, and Bachelor of Sport and Fitness Leadership student, Stephanie Galitzine. Galitzine, who has been a champion of the mental health campaign since its’ early beginnings. As a former Camosun student-athlete, Stephanie remains involved with the Chargers as the team’s Strength and Conditioning Coach. She is putting out the call to all her fellow students and the Chargers student-athletes to attend the event and want people to know that getting involved with the campaign is very easy.
“Students can get involved in really simple ways,” explains Galitzine, who earned the 2018 Camosun College President’s Cup for her outstanding academic achievements. “It can be the smallest thing, like showing up to the game and cheering on the teams. Or just supporting your friends or classmates and asking them how they’re doing. Students are already so busy that when they hear the word involvement or commitment, it often discourages them from taking part. The truth is, it’s the little things that can create a big impact.”
Galitzine adds, “We encourage as many people to show up as possible. The more people we reach, the more acceptance there is and it just grows and grows. With each subsequent year, we’ve seen this event get bigger and better. It’s important that we keep campaigning every year because support for mental health isn’t just a fad — it’s on-going and affects everyone around us.”
Those wanting to be a part of this year’s event simply have to attend the Chargers Jan. 24 volleyball games, bring their loudest noisemaker (voices, cheering and clapping also count) and help make Camosun the LOUDEST in the land! As part of the campaign, photos and video will be taken and shared nation-wide. Matches will be held on the Chargers’ home court in the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence on Camosun’s Interurban campus (4371 Interurban Road). First serve for the women is 6:00pm. Men are set to start at 8:00pm.
Also on January 29th “Join the Conversation” on Bell Let’s Talk Day. Everyone can talk, text and join in on social media to help end the stigma around mental illness and drive action in Canadian mental health.
