Events
Join Fond du Lac Area Women’s Fund For Our Community Mental Health Challenge and Become Mentally Healthy
Week One Results Are In! Check Them Out!
20 Minutes a Day to Become Mentally Healthy
1) Register your team (up to 10) or register solo for FREE
2) Follow the FDLA Women’s Fund Facebook page
3) Track your minutes and submit totals each week
4) Consider securing pledges to support your efforts to stick to the challenge while raising critical funding for our FDLA Women’s Fund’s community education and grantmaking linked to our Health and Well-Being pillar
5) Submit weekly minutes and look for leaderboard updates
6) Join us for the Award Ceremony in June
Duration: Mental Health Challenge runs May 1 – 31, 2023
Fond du Lac Area Goes Mental 4 Community Mental Health FAQ
Gov. Tony Evers has declared 2023 as “the year of mental health” throughout Wisconsin.
Consider these startling statistics*:
- Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction indicates students statewide have significant mental health needs, and further investment and support is essential to address these ongoing challenges.
- From 2019-20, 20.78% of American adults (50 million+) were experiencing a mental illness.
- Millions of adults in the U.S. experience serious thoughts of suicide, with the highest rate among multiracial individuals. The percentage of adults reporting serious thoughts of suicide is 4.48%, totaling over 12.1 million people. It’s worse – 6% higher – for multiracial adults, with 11% of adults identified with two or more races reporting serious thoughts of suicide in 2020.
- More than 1 in 10 youth in the U.S. are experiencing depression that is severely impairing their ability to function at school or work, at home, with family, or in their social life. 16.39 % of 12- to 17-year-olds report suffering from at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year. 11.5% of youth (2.7 million+) are experiencing severe major depression.
- In the U.S., there are an estimated 350 individuals for every mental health provider. However, these figures may be an overestimate of active mental health professionals, as they may include providers who are no longer practicing or accepting new patients.
*These statistics are provided by Mental Health America. Find and share the pdf version at
The State of Mental Health in America | Mental Health America (mhanational.org)
Our Fond du Lac Area Women’s Fund promotes its Health and Well-Being foundational pillar
by hosting this free, family-friendly Community Mental Health Challenge in May as part of
Mental Health Awareness Month. The FDLA Women’s Fund supports a proactive
approach to mental health, which begins in doable increments.
The power of 20 minutes can significantly reduce negative symptoms and improve your overall well-being. Dedicating 20 minutes a day to your mental health has been shown to improve your energy, reduce stress, promote the feel-good chemicals in the brain, and elevate overall mental wellness.
Join Today: Dedicate 20 minutes a day to be mentally healthy!
Question: What is the duration of the campaign?
Answer: It’s the entire month of May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month. You can sign up at any time, but of course, you have a better chance at awards if you do so by May 1.
Question: Why 20 minutes per day?
Answer: Walking or gardening (for example) for as little as 20 minutes per day can help prevent depression, says a University of Toronto researcher who examined 26 years’ worth of scholarly research. Dedicating 20 minutes daily to your mental health is a preventative approach.
Question: I heard it’s FREE to join the campaign! Is this true?
Answer: Yuppers! You are 100% correct. We are waving the registration fee and are encouraging families, friends, co-workers or solo participants to register and create a healthy mental health challenge among one another. We are encouraging campaign donations, and we will have an award ceremony in June.
Question: How do I register and join the campaign?
Answer: Whether a single participant or team, here is the link to register:
https://givebutter.com/TlJA6j or scan the QR code at the right
Question: Can I be on a team and solo registration?
Answer: Sure, but we ask that you split up your minutes and not
double-dip in both categories when submitting.
Question: How do I track and submit my minutes?
Answer: Please have your team captain create a system that works for your team, or for those going solo, we just ask that you honestly track and monitor. We have a calendar of the submission dates that will be emailed to you and listed on the site. Then each week, your team captain (or you individually) submit your final minutes via email with the subject line MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGE: fdlawomensfund@fdlawomensfund
Question: What happens if I forget to submit my minutes?
Answer: It happens. Just email (fdlawomensfund@gmail.com) and we will update the information.
Question: Where do I find the calendar for submission dates during the campaign?
Answer: A calendar will be sent to you or your team captain, but if you can’t find it, just email us (fdlawomensfund@gmail.com) and continue to check the site for updates!
Question: What qualifies as 20 minutes per day?
Answer: We want you to focus on physical health, mental health, emotional health,
psychological health, professional health and spiritual health! Examples: walking, biking, reading, journaling, going to therapy, learning a new skill, etc. Don’t stress! We will be sending you
a document with ideas and promoting ideas throughout the campaign.
Question: Can I go over the 20 minutes per day?
Answer: YES – please do. The minimum is 20 minutes a day, but we encourage you to do more.
We will have extra credit opportunities throughout the month may. The award ceremony at the end
of the campaign will have an award for most minutes! Who doesn’t love a healthy competition?
Question: How can we raise money?
Answer: We have a link on the website (https://givebutter.com/TlJA6j) and we encourage
a healthy competition to raise funds that help our Women’s Fund do this important
work and more! We will have an award for most money raised as well.
Question: What if I want to just donate?
Answer: That is wonderful! You can donate on the site (https://givebutter.com/TlJA6j) or email us: fdlawomensfund@gmail.com
Question: How do I promote the campaign?
Answer: Please reshare on social media, have others join the campaign (https://givebutter.com/TlJA6j) and/or raise money throughout the campaign! Reshare all the fun stuff throughout the month.
Question: Are you accepting sponsors or sponsorship?
Answer: Yes! We are encouraging our participants to donate and/or sponsor our event.
Here is the link (https://givebutter.com/TlJA6j)
or reach out to this email: fdlawomensfund@gmail.com
Question: What is the awards ceremony?
Answer: We cannot wait to celebrate your mental health achievements!
There will be an awards ceremony at the end of the month.
Stay tuned for more information, but we intend it to be family-friendly.
Awards will be given for:
> most minutes (team and solo)
> most money raised (team and solo)
> other mental health goat awards
Question: Where will the awards ceremony be held?
Answer: We’re working on the location, date and time yet. We will update this page
once we’ve secured the space!
Question: Where does the money go?
Answer: Our Fond du Lac Area Women’s Fund is dedicated to increasing opportunities for women
and girls throughout the county. We are a mighty staff of ONE plus about 40 regular volunteers
amongst our Board of Directors and committees. The majority of our funds are invested back
into the community through grants to partner agencies and our own programming.
We are growing and evolving and need your help to carry out our plans for enhancing
activities related to our five foundational pillars of:
Economic Self-Sufficiency; Education; Health and Well-Being;
Leadership Development; and Safety, Dignity and Freedom from Violence.
Question: How do I join the Women’s Fund’s team of volunteers?
Answer: Check out the available volunteer opportunities on our website: https://www.fdlawomensfund.org/get-involved/volunteer/