BB's Big Lift

PLEASE JOIN ME IN THE MOVEMENT TO TRANSFORM CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH BY PLEDGING FOR EVERY BENCH PRESS REP I RECORD AT OHIO STATE’S PRO DAY.

I was just 10 years old when my dad was killed. Since that day I have struggled to come to grips with the shooting and the aftermath. As the oldest son, I immediately felt a tremendous weight on my shoulders to step up for my family. Somehow, I knew almost immediately that I wasn’t just an older brother anymore. Even though I didn’t know what the heck I was doing, I had to be a father figure and a role model. I tried to be solid for my brothers, but really I was a kid, too, and stuff worried me. Carrying that weight has taken a toll on me. Although I bottled it up for a long time, I have struggled with anxiety and depression since that day. For a long time, I buried these emotions, and that only made things worse.

It was only once I let people in, and let some of that emotion out, that I truly began to find ways to heal. I realized that no one can, or should, go through it alone. There is always somebody out there that will help you. It’s still a rollercoaster, but I find ways to cope, especially being with my kids.

That is why, as I take the next step toward achieving my NFL dream, I have made the important decision to support On Our Sleeves at my Pro Day. Please join me by making your pledge.

On Our Sleeves

It’s time to have a conversation about our children, to raise our voices for this important cause.

We believe in caring for the whole child - that mental health is just as important as physical health. Yet across America, children’s mental health is an often overlooked and vastly underfunded component of pediatric health. Further troubling, only one child psychiatrist is available for every 15,000 youths younger than 18. Lack of healthcare resources and funding only complicate and hinder efforts to make significant changes that impact our youth during these critically important formative years.

The On Our Sleeves movement, launched on World Mental Health Day 2018, is on a national mission to break the silence surrounding children’s mental health. On Our Sleeves is offering hope to families navigating mental health issues in their own lives. All content and resources have been developed with the mental health experts at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Working with one of America’s leading voices in pediatric mental health, we are determined to offer hope. On Our Sleeves has created a network of support around the millions of families around the country living with mental illness by addressing the stigma associated with this diagnosis and providing the tools necessary to improve behavioral health outcomes.

Want to take the next step in becoming an advocate for mental and behavioral health like me? Start you own fundraising page at: onoursleeves.org/fundraise.

THANK YOU!

Thank you for your support of my campaign and of On Our Sleeves. I’ll be training extra hard, knowing that with your pledges, every rep is more money raised in the fight to transform children’s mental health.

Please don’t forget to share this campaign and your support on social media (Facebook, twitter, instagram, etc.).

Sincerely,

Robert “BB” Landers