Custom apparel specialist, Innerforce, and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) have announced a partnership. The two organisations will work side-by-side on increasing awareness in the sports industry about the importance of athletes’ mental health.
Innerforce will be running a year-long fundraising effort to support the work of the foundation.
Team Innerforce, the brand’s team of brand ambassadors, will play a key role in fundraising through 2021. Each athlete ambassador will raise a minimum of US$1,000 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. That funding will go towards increasing awareness and helping those in need regarding mental health and suicide prevention.
This partnership comes at a time in which both the brand and the team have witnessed a significant evolution embodied in their claim: ‘through us, for others’. This embodies a shift from the pursuit of individual sport goals, to the ‘transformational capacity of achieving one’s goals and transferring such power to others along the way.’
Jennifer Chadwick, founding member of Team Innerforce since 2019, said “Over the past couple of years, there have even been pro triathletes and cyclists who pull off the circuit to reframe their mental state.”
Jennifer, an advocate for opening up and talking about mental health, firmly believes that being aware of the symptoms and knowing how to help is key to saving a person’s life. “Having a mentor, captain, teammate or even a coach that knows your struggle is key so that they can help pull you from the depths and get you back on your feet if you just don’t have it in you.
“Cycling saved my life. Being part of a team keeps me going.”
It was her own personal experience and leadership that led the team to partner with AFSP.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, every 40 seconds a person around the world takes their own life. Chadwick added, “Especially now, people may be struggling more due to the pandemic. There is no rest when it comes to helping someone.
“Without awareness, people who are struggling are truly on their own, whereas with awareness there are outlets, there is compassion, there is help.”
The brand will host workshops and talks together with sharing information on its social platforms. Innerforce aims to ‘provide a safe space for people to grasp hope and give mental health the importance it deserves.’
Donations will be received year-round through different activities through a dedicated landing page.
