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October 14, 2022
Tottenham Hotspur striker and England national team captain, Harry Kane, is the latest athlete to use his platform to help change perceptions on mental health. With a with a long-term goal to transform a generation’s thinking on the subject, The Harry Kane Foundation (HKF) was announced during this past Monday’s recogntion of World Mental Health Day.
Kane has previously supported mental health charities through his shirt sponsorship at Leyton Orient, but wanted to do more to normalise conversations and promote positive actions that tackle stigmas. He expressed that there are a growing number of people who need to learn positive coping strategies and build resilience to deal with adversity.
“[The Foundation] marks the start of my journey to learn more about mental health and use my position hopefully to encourage others to look after their mental health, be their best and not be afraid to ask for help,” he said.
HKF has already launched several activations and projects in collaboration with organisations and causes that are close to the footballer’s heart. One is an animation that features his rise from grassroots football to the Premier League. Titled Harry Kane: Resilience, the film highlights the many challenges he faced on his journey to the top and his determination to never give up. The animation appears on his social media channels and website, and will be played across the national network of Everyman Cinemas. Kane also joined a list of stars who narrated children’s stories on the BBC’s CBeebies Bedtime Stories, which also debuted on World Mental Health Day.
According to the United Nations, nearly one billion people worldwide suffer from some form of mental disorder. Rates of mental illnesses were exacerbated by COVID-19, which caused common conditions such as depression and anxiety to increase by 25% in the first year of the pandemic. However, this increased focus on health over the past few years has influenced many people to think about their mental health in the same way as physical health. Recent data shows that three in four people globally say mental and physical health are equally important and 58% say they often think about their own mental wellbeing.
With a focus on empowering young people, Kane teamed up with the Premier League to feature educational material for school children. The activities are designed for youth aged seven to 11 and will be centred around how resilience can help you recover from setbacks and embrace a positive attitude to help deal with challenging situations. The free to download resources are available to 18,500 primary school students across England and Wales via the Premier League Primary Stars education programme.
HKF will raise funds through personal contributions, partnerships, private donations and fundraising activities and events. All public proceeds will go directly to mental health charities, projects and research supported by the Foundation.
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