By Mariana Smithfield

April 26, 2024

Partnership helps break stigmas around children’s mental health through auction, 5K and more

COLUMBUS – As part of their year-long partnership, The Kids Mental Health Foundation, powered by the experts at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and the Columbus Crew are hosting their annual “On Our Sleeves” match Saturday against CF Montréal at Lower.com Field. Throughout the day, the Crew, The Kids Mental Health Foundation, Nationwide and Crew supporters will help break stigmas around children’s mental health, as well as raise funds in support of the Foundation’s free mental health resources for caregivers, educators, coaches and workplaces.

On Saturday, May 4, The Kids Mental Health Foundation will hold their On Our Sleeves 5K Run and Walk, in partnership with Nationwide and the Crew, at Lower.com Field to grow awareness, break stigmas and raise funds for children’s mental health. Crew players Darlington Nagbe, Taha Habroune, Christian Ramirez and Yaw Yeboah will be onsite to support the initiative and race, which starts and finishes at Lower.com Field.

“Through the On Our Sleeves match and 5K Run, our Club has a special opportunity to showcase the phenomenal work that Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Kids Mental Health Foundation do to champion resources and awareness for kids’ mental health,” said Josh Glessing, Chief of Strategy & Development at Haslam Sports Group. “The Crew are dedicated to promoting youth soccer and education resources in the Columbus community, both of which can play an important part in the overall well-being of our local youth.”

“On Our Sleeves, powered by the experts at The Kids Mental Health Foundation at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, is honored for this opportunity to engage Crew fans and supporters in the critical issue of children’s mental health,” said Whiteny Raglin Bignall, PhD, Associate Clinical Director of The Kids Mental Health Foundation and Pediatric Psychologist at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “Funds raised on the night of the match will support our mission to make mental health a vital part of every child’s upbringing and will allow us to create and distribute free tools and resources for grown-ups to use with children in their lives.”

“Nationwide has been an ardent supporter of the On Our Sleeves movement since its inception and we’re thrilled to have our partners with the Crew join us in championing children’s mental health,” said Jim McCoy, Associate Vice President of Sports Marketing for Nationwide. “The match-night activations and the addition of the 5K offer meaningful opportunities to raise funds and awareness of the many resources available to start conversations and break stigmas.”

Multiple Crew players will be wearing cleats with On Our Sleeves imagery during Saturday’s match to raise awareness for the cause, including Nagbe, Habroune, Mohamed Farsi, Aidan Morris, Patrick Schulte and Diego Rossi. The Black & Gold will also don jerseys with custom numbers displaying Nationwide Children’s Hospital icons. The Crew captain will also have a custom armband for the match. Items will be available to Crew supporters via an auction that benefits On Our Sleeves. The International Children’s Choir will be performing the National Anthem.

On Our Sleeves is on a mission to provide tools and resources to every community, including parents, teachers and coaches nationwide. Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Crew will provide information throughout fans’ matchday experience to encourage conversations about and awareness of childhood mental health topics.

Limited tickets for the match are available now at www.columbuscrew.com/tickets/single-match.

About The On Our Sleeves® Movement For Children’s Mental Health

Children don’t wear their thoughts on their sleeves. With 1 in 5 children living with a significant mental health concern and half of all lifetime mental health concerns starting by age 14, we need to give them a voice. The On Our Sleeves Movement For Children’s Mental Health, created by Nationwide Children’s Hospital, one of the United States’ largest network of pediatric behavioral health treatment providers and researchers, is on a mission to give expert-created resources to all U.S. communities so everyone can understand and promote mental health for children. Our vision is to build a world where mental health is a part of the upbringing of every single child. Nearly 1,000 mental health professionals and researchers at Nationwide Children’s, in partnership with other trusted experts, provide their real-world knowledge and expertise to power On Our Sleeves.

Since the inception of On Our Sleeves in 2018, more than 6 million people in every state across the United States has interacted with the movement’s free pediatric mental health education resources at OnOurSleeves.org.

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