Riot Games Teams Up With Active Minds to Support Youth Mental Health
League of Legends Developer Reinforces Commitment to Mental Health as a Crucial Cause to Players, Fans, and Communities Worldwide
WASHINGTON DC, January 24, 2019 – Active Minds today announced a year-long partnership with Riot Games to support mental health awareness and education programs for high school and college students. The partnership will help Active Minds expand its organizational capacity to positively impact the health and well-being of an additional 120,000 teenagers and young adults in 2019.
“We are grateful and gratified by this recognition of Active Minds’ incredibly effective, peer-to-peer approach to changing attitudes and behaviors around mental health,” says Alison Malmon, founder and executive director of Active Minds, the nation’s premier nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness and education for students.
Active Minds’ focus on mental health aligns with the interests of Riot’s massive League of Legends player base, who identified good mental health and well-being as a leading social value in a recent player research study.
“As a company that strives to be the most player-focused video game developer in the world, we are always looking for ways to support causes that are important to our players, who have identified mental health as a crucial cause,” says Jeffrey Burrell, head of corporate social responsibility at Riot Games. “This new partnership with Active Minds not only allows Riot to help players and esports fans realize their full potential in and out of game, it also allows us to start to drive real world change for their communities.”
Riot Games will help Active Minds build new technical infrastructure and expand its reach, offering young people information and resources to support each other and advocate for change. For example, Active Minds’ #HereForYou campaign features a three-step guide on how to talk to a friend or family member who is struggling, prevent issues from reaching a more critical stage, and let them know help is available and they’re not alone.
“Our work together will positively impact thousands of students reached every day by Active Minds,” says Malmon. “What’s so exciting is how far this partnership will go towards empowering young people everywhere to lead the change that ends the stigma surrounding mental health issues, not only for this generation but for those to come.”
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About Riot Games
Riot Games was founded in 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill with the intent to change the way video games are made and supported for players. In 2009, Riot released its debut title League of Legends to worldwide acclaim. The game has since gone on to become the most played PC game in the world and a key driver of the explosive growth of esports. Players are the foundation of our community and it’s for them we continue to evolve and improve the League of Legends experience. Riot Games is headquartered in Los Angeles, CA and has 23 offices worldwide.
About Active Minds
Active Minds is the nation’s premier nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness and education for students. A recent landmark study by the RAND Corporation confirms that Active Minds has a significant, positive impact on student health and well-being by creating a supportive climate for mental health on college campuses. Active Minds is powered by a vibrant network of campus chapters located at more than 450 colleges, universities, and high schools nationwide. The organization is dedicated to supporting a new generation in ending the silence and changing the conversation about mental health for everyone.
For more information please contact:
Pam McKeta
Active Minds
pam@activeminds.org
Brian Chui
Riot Games
bchui@riotgames.com
Active Minds is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization promoting mental health awareness and education for young adults.