With May being #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth , I'm excited to announce that my friends at @PodAfterTD and I are launching the Fantasy Football #MentalHealth Initiative, a campaign to drive more awareness and funding for mental health issues! #MentalHealthMatters (1/10)

Fantasy football is often a way for many people to escape normal life whether it's by listening to podcasts, watching games, or analyzing data, so we want to turn that into something actionable and utilize the amazing community that we are a part of!

1 in 5 adults experience mental illness each year, so if you're in a 10-team #fantasyfootball league, that's two members of your league that face mental illnesses. Fantasy football can be stressful, and we want to help fellow FF team managers in managing their mental health.

The most common mental health condition is anxiety, which I have dealt with, and continue to manage. Also, 43% of adults w/ mental illness sought treatment in 2018. I was one of those and it's important that we don't stigmatize those who use these resources to get help. It works!

Our goal for this initiative is twofold:
1) Feature a mental health minute during @PodAfterTD episodes
2) Raise $4,760 (which is based on the 47.6 million adults that experienced mental illness in 2018) by Week 17 of the 2020 NFL season

The mental health minute will cover anything from resources and tools for managing mental health to articles or videos that discuss mental health issues. If they relate to the sports world, great, but we want to provide our community with any relevant information!

To raise money, we're hosting a @gofundme page going directly to @NAMICommunicate. Beyond looking for support from the #fantasyfootball community and encouraging listeners to donate, there are some ways that we at @PodAfterTD will be making contributions http://gf.me/u/xy62u3 

Instead of doing beer bets, we'll be shifting to doing donation props, with the "loser" donating a couple dollars. We'll also have weekly promos throughout the year like donating $1 for each first-half rushing yard from CMC. This isn't exhaustive, but gives you a taste!

Finally, I will be donating $1 for every hour of football that I watch this season. That may not sound like a lot, but I watch a lot of football (just ask my girlfriend). This includes any #NFLRedZone or individual games that I watch, and I'll post updates during the year.

We look forward to taking this journey with you all and making a difference in the battle against mental health illnesses. Thanks in advance for your support and help! As always, feel free to DM me if you want to talk (about anything)! #MentalHealthMatters