Campaign boosts positivity
A campaign to promote positive mental health in Ararat is providing dual benefits, boosting business and positivity in the community.
Resilience Ararat finished its #beanresilient campaign last week after supplying Ararat cafés with more than 15,000 specially branded cups.
The cups helped spread messages about the three principles of resilience – gratitude, empathy and mindfulness – and encouraged the community to share their strategies for living a happy, fulfilling life.
Ararat café owners have reported customers were on board and sharing their positive messages to social media.
Foragers Café owner Sarah Ramsey said she did not hesitate when her business was asked to be part of the campaign.
“We saw people popping in for a coffee who we don’t usually see,” she said.
“They were making the effort to get involved, which really shows the community is behind each other.
“As a local business owner, mental health is a pretty strong priority for me. I think anything to raise awareness about that is important and I’m always 100 percent behind it.
“It was fabulous to see all the cafés come together with the cups, and the students get involved with helping to develop the messages.
“Community support is huge for us at a time like this and I feel really blessed to live where we are because we’ve had a lot of community support.”
Central Grampians LLEN Resilient Ararat project officer Jane Moriarty said residents had taken to social media over the course of the campaign.
“We were so overwhelmed by the response to this campaign and are extremely grateful to the Ararat community,” she said.
“We can’t thank everyone enough for supporting us by visiting our local cafés and engaging with the messages we were trying to deliver. Seeing everyone come together is what resilience is all about, so it was fantastic to see.”