BeerHind Closed Doors: The Lucy Rayner Foundation Supports Men’s Health Week

Men’s Health Week is a global initiative that is held every year in the week running up to Father’s Day.

This year, it ran between 12th and 18th June with a theme of ‘'Men's Health and the Internet' - shining a spotlight on the significant impact of digital technology on mental health of men, such as the anxiety-inducing pressures of social media and the easy access to addictive activities like gaming and gambling.

It’s actually estimated that 1 in 8 men suffer from mental health issues such as anxiety, stress and depression. Yet despite it being such a common issue, many men feel uncomfortable discussing their mental health issues openly, with around 40% of men choosing not to talk about it.

Suffering in silence can make mental health problems worse and can lead to severe consequences. For example, in the UK 3 out of 4 suicides are men, and suicide is the biggest cause of death in men under 45.

Raising awareness of the help and support available to men that are struggling with their mental health is an important aspect of addressing this. 

Introducing The Lucy Rayner Foundation

The Lucy Rayner Foundation was born out of a deeply personal tragedy.

Jenny Rayner and her family were devastated when their daughter Lucy, only 22 years old, tragically took her own life in 2012. From this profound loss, they found a purpose: to help others facing similar struggles.

Their mission is to raise awareness about mental health issues - changing society’s perceptions of mental health and breaking down the stigmas that surround it. They believe in the importance of acknowledging when we're not okay and recognising that seeking help is not a weakness, but a strength.

In the run up to Men's Health Week, The Lucy Rayner Foundation wanted to run a campaign to raise awareness and prompt discussion of mental health amongst men, and encourage groups of friends to look out for one another.

A familiar collaboration for Everything Community

We’ve previously collaborated with The Lucy Rayner Foundation to help design and produce memorable gifts for guests at their Annual Charity Ball.

We were delighted to hear from them again when Amie Johns got in touch to talk about their ideas for Men’s Health Week, and the support they needed.

Amie explained that they were thinking of the concept of “BeerHind Closed Doors”, a way to help raise awareness of the mental health support available to men in a place they were relaxed and comfortable - in local pubs and bars.

We discussed various creative options that would be effective in raising awareness, and also promoting discussion amongst groups of friends. We eventually decided that the best solution would be some distinctive beer mats that could be distributed affordably in bars and pubs in the local area.

Our design team immediately got to work, and came up with a variety of concepts for the beer mats, each with a clear call to action to consider the mental health of their friends.

The Foundation actually loved them all, and decided to go ahead with all the different variations

Once the designs were signed off, our merchandise team got to work.

Within a matter of days, we had 750 beer mats ready for The Lucy Rayner Foundation to distribute in the local area.

Amie got in touch to confirm that all the beer mats had been sent out to local bars and pubs ahead of Men’s Health Week, and they’d had a really positive response.

“ We just wanted to say that the coasters have arrived and we are literally over the moon with the outcome. They look amazing! We are so grateful for your support, you add so much value to our charity and campaigns”

Does Your Charity Need Support?

Everything Community manages the social responsibility and community support initiatives of the Everything Global Group.

If you’re a registered charity and have an initiative we can help out with, we’d love to hear from you at [email protected]