2012-2013
News Release
REF NO.: 141
SUBJECT: Bell Aliant contributes $100,000 to Memorial University to help create a project focused on issues surrounding body image
DATE: June 17, 2013
Memorial University today recognized a $100,000 contribution from Bell Aliant to Memorial’s Counselling Centre in support of a new project focusing on issues surrounding body image in students.
The Feeling Good About You project will help university students identify body image concerns and will develop strategies for resisting social pressures surrounding body image ideals.
Research has shown that social pressures, and individuals’ perceptions of their ability to conform to body image ideals, can contribute to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and eating disorders. Through this project, Memorial University’s Counselling Centre aims to expand current efforts and to develop new strategies for addressing body image concerns in students. Feeling Good About You will entail a series of activities, including a needs assessment, a public awareness campaign and intervention programs.
“There is enormous pressure on young people to look a certain way – to conform to the feminine thin ideal or the masculine muscular ideal,” said
Dr. Michele Neary, assistant professor, Counselling Centre, MemorialUniversity, and the Feeling Good About You project lead. “We are pleased to have the support of Bell Aliant in the development of strategies to help our students resist these ideals and sustain healthier outcomes. Our message to students is that we want them to feel good about themselves.”
“The Feeling Good About You project is a perfect fit for our mental health initiative,” said Geoff Davis, vice-president, sales, Bell Aliant. “It will provide students with the tools, knowledge and support they need to recognize body image issues and will help them work toward increased confidence, self-esteem and positive mental health.”
The Feeling Good About You project is in its initial phase and will soon undertake a needs assessment, with a public awareness campaign and group counseling sessions to begin this fall.
About Memorial University
Founded in 1925 as a memorial to Newfoundland’s war dead, Memorial University College was elevated to degree-granting status in 1949 as Memorial University of Newfoundland. Today, the university is the largest in Atlantic Canada, with about 19,000 students. Memorial provides excellent undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in virtually all disciplines. With locations in St. John’s and Corner Brook in Newfoundland, Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Labrador, and Harlow in England, Memorial is committed to experiential learning.
Outstanding research and scholarship, extraordinary teaching and learning, and a focus on public engagement are the university’s hallmarks. Many teaching and research activities reflect our mid-North Atlantic locations; these unique settings and our cultural heritage have led to the creation of highly-regarded academic programs and specialized facilities in areas such as business, music, linguistics, folklore and human genetics, as well as earth sciences, cold-ocean engineering, rural health care and archaeology. For more information about Memorial University of Newfoundland, please visit www.mun.ca.
About Bell Aliant
Bell Aliant (TSX: BA) is one of North America's largest regional communications providers and the first company in Canada to cover an entire city with fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) technology with its FibreOP™ services.
Through its operating entities it serves customers in six Canadian provinces with innovative information, communication and technology services including voice, data, Internet, video and value-added business solutions. Bell Aliant's employees deliver the highest quality customer service, choice and convenience.
REF NO.: 141
SUBJECT: Bell Aliant contributes $100,000 to Memorial University to help create a project focused on issues surrounding body image
DATE: June 17, 2013
Memorial University today recognized a $100,000 contribution from Bell Aliant to Memorial’s Counselling Centre in support of a new project focusing on issues surrounding body image in students.
The Feeling Good About You project will help university students identify body image concerns and will develop strategies for resisting social pressures surrounding body image ideals.
Research has shown that social pressures, and individuals’ perceptions of their ability to conform to body image ideals, can contribute to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and eating disorders. Through this project, Memorial University’s Counselling Centre aims to expand current efforts and to develop new strategies for addressing body image concerns in students. Feeling Good About You will entail a series of activities, including a needs assessment, a public awareness campaign and intervention programs.
“There is enormous pressure on young people to look a certain way – to conform to the feminine thin ideal or the masculine muscular ideal,” said
Dr. Michele Neary, assistant professor, Counselling Centre, MemorialUniversity, and the Feeling Good About You project lead. “We are pleased to have the support of Bell Aliant in the development of strategies to help our students resist these ideals and sustain healthier outcomes. Our message to students is that we want them to feel good about themselves.”
“The Feeling Good About You project is a perfect fit for our mental health initiative,” said Geoff Davis, vice-president, sales, Bell Aliant. “It will provide students with the tools, knowledge and support they need to recognize body image issues and will help them work toward increased confidence, self-esteem and positive mental health.”
The Feeling Good About You project is in its initial phase and will soon undertake a needs assessment, with a public awareness campaign and group counseling sessions to begin this fall.
About Memorial University
Founded in 1925 as a memorial to Newfoundland’s war dead, Memorial University College was elevated to degree-granting status in 1949 as Memorial University of Newfoundland. Today, the university is the largest in Atlantic Canada, with about 19,000 students. Memorial provides excellent undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in virtually all disciplines. With locations in St. John’s and Corner Brook in Newfoundland, Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Labrador, and Harlow in England, Memorial is committed to experiential learning.
Outstanding research and scholarship, extraordinary teaching and learning, and a focus on public engagement are the university’s hallmarks. Many teaching and research activities reflect our mid-North Atlantic locations; these unique settings and our cultural heritage have led to the creation of highly-regarded academic programs and specialized facilities in areas such as business, music, linguistics, folklore and human genetics, as well as earth sciences, cold-ocean engineering, rural health care and archaeology. For more information about Memorial University of Newfoundland, please visit www.mun.ca.
About Bell Aliant
Bell Aliant (TSX: BA) is one of North America's largest regional communications providers and the first company in Canada to cover an entire city with fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) technology with its FibreOP™ services.
Through its operating entities it serves customers in six Canadian provinces with innovative information, communication and technology services including voice, data, Internet, video and value-added business solutions. Bell Aliant's employees deliver the highest quality customer service, choice and convenience.
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