Brisbane Roar has entered a new community charity partnership with national organisation The Good Human Factory.
The announcement comes off the back of the Roar attending one of The Good Human Factory’s workshops in the lead up to the start of their A-League campaign.
The Good Human Factory is a charity founded by surfer Cooper Chapman in 2020. Chapman began the charity in response to a suicide at his younger sister’s school. Initially, he has intended the charity to be directed at improving youth mental health with high school workshops. However, as the charity has grown the focus has shifted to corporate seminars as well. Since its founding the charity has run workshops for 20,000 students and 2000 corporates.
The Good Human Factory aims to change the perception of mental health for young people. As an organisation they want to destigmatise mental health something they hope is achieved through their partnerships with young athletes like the players at Brisbane Roar.
“We aim to inspire our community and workshop participants to think about mental health a little differently. Our message is that mental health is not mental illness. And we all need to become aware of – and take care of – our mental health,” they said via their website.
As an athlete himself, Chapman spoke directly to the Roar players, something that struck a significant chord with the group.
“So much in sport, as athletes, we let our self-worth be defined by our performance but in reality, everyone has mental health, and we need to look after ourselves,” he said in the workshop.
Brisbane Roar expressed their confidence in the partnership as a way in which to not only look after their community but also their players mental health.
“By partnering with The Good Human Factory, we can ensure that our athletes maintain a healthy mindset and lifestyle as they continue to play football,” they added via press release.
Through siding with a charity who has great contemporary community outreach the Brisbane Roar are certain to have a positive effect across the nation. Not only will the support to players help their performance in the upcoming season but the outreach to fans in having their players engaged in such a vital conversation is sure to have great social benefits.
