01Jan By Alex Panton Foundation18All News World Mental Health Day Wednesday 10th October 2018 is World Mental Health Day. World Mental Health Day is a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. It was first celebrated in 1992 at the initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health, a global mental health organization with members and contacts in more than 150 countries. It is now supported by the World Health Organisation. The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide. The Alex Panton Foundation as one of the stakeholders would like to engage the employers of the Cayman Islands to help us further our Mission in observance of this day of awareness. In observance of World Mental Health Day 2018, we invite you to raise the awareness in with your staff with one or several of our suggestions below: Dress in your brightest colour on the day (or Friday 12th) to signify brightening the lives of others living in the darkness of mental illness. If your staff so wishes they can make a small donation to the Alex Panton Foundation fundraising cause. Please contact info@alexpantonfoundation.kyDesignate a mental health/stress relief corner/part of your office where people congregate or pass through – place a poster board or a dry erase board where staff members can leave their number one tip for relieving stress (besides consumption of alcohol or drugs)Have a “darkness into light walk with your staff” (Dawn into daylight). We know many workplaces have exercise groups that wake before dawn and exercise into the daylight hours. This could be done with a special awareness of mental health – “bringing dark times into the light”. There are other ways that you may want to consider that may be more appropriate for your staff and we invite you to visit the World Mental Health Day website here. Please also visit the WHO website here for more information that you may wish to distribute to your staff. Many thanks again for your support!