Olds College Broncos are participating in the annual Make Some Noise For Mental Health initiative.
That initiative is organized by the Alberta Colleges Athletic Association (ACAC). Olds College is a member of that organization.
The purpose of Make Some Noise For Mental Health is to "break stigmas around mental health, encourage empathy, understanding and open mindedness while promoting resources and support available on campuses and in their communities," according to the ACAC website.
"Even the brain needs an off-season," its slogan says.
Broncos Athletics sports information officer Geordie Carragher says this year, the Broncos have planned events around three sets of games.
The first took place Jan. 17 during a women's hockey game at the Sportsplex between the Broncos and NAIT.
The next activities take place Jan. 25 and 26 as the Broncos' volleyball and basketball teams take to the court.
Carragher says on Jan. 25, during Bronco volleyball games, representatives of RBC, the initiative title sponsor, will be on hand.
"They'll have different games and different initiatives between sets. And they'll be presenting a cheque for $1,000 to the on-campus food bank as well," he says.
Carragher says on both days, the women play at 6 p.m. and the men at 8 p.m.
Also on Jan. 25 and 26, for the second year in a row, the Community Learning Campus (CLC) will be holding its Ride For Mental Health.
Members of the public can gain admission to the facility by riding stationary bikes. Money raised goes to the Olds College student emergency fund.
That's not all.
"One thing you'll see from the Broncos in the community over the next few months — and this is another tie-in with Make Some Noise — we're also doing another community initiative where we do some volunteer work with a couple of charities in the community," Carragher says.
"We'll match up three of our student athletes with three RBC staff members here from the local branch. And for every two hours volunteered, $1,000 will be donated to that organization and we can do that five times."
Carragher says organizers are still determining exactly which non-profit they'll partner with and when that initiative will get underway.
"We're leaving that up to our student athlete leadership team that we have on campus to figure out where we want to go with that," he says.
He anticipates those efforts will be "spread out throughout the winter semester."
