Get talking this Liptember

Did you know that one in three women* will suffer from depression or anxiety during their lifetime? Liptember is a month long charity initiative run throughout September every year that raises awareness of women’s health issues and funds research to achieve optimal health outcomes for women.

Through a fun, fresh and engaging campaign, Liptember encourages women to openly communicate and familiarise themselves with gender specific mental health issues. Now in its second year, the campaign encourages women (or men!) to get sponsored by family and friends to wear the official Liptember lip shade everyday for the month. The money raised will be used to support national programs and research at the Centre for Women’s Mental Health, which is the first gender specific mental health clinic in Australia, and Lifeline Australia, which provides access to crisis support, suicide prevention and mental health support service.

This is especially important given that 84% of contacts who call Lifeline Australia’s ‘Online Crisis Support Chat’ service (which ran from April 2011 until August 31st) are women. What’s more, the main reason women are contacting this service is about mental health issues.

Natural skincare company, Burt’s Bees has once again partnered with Liptember for the campaign and the official Liptember shade is Burt’s Bees Hibiscus Tinted Lip Balm, which can be purchased from Myer for the special price of $10.00 (a saving of $4.95). All proceeds from the sale of the Hibiscus Tinted Lip Balms also go directly to the cause.

When it comes to research into mental health, the differences between men and women are now well documented. Women are more susceptible to anxiety and depression than men with women being particularly vulnerable at puberty, during pregnancy, after childbirth and during menopause.

While there is growing acceptance that each sex has different mental health issues, there is still relatively little research on mental health issues specific to women. That’s why the need for an initiative like Liptember is imperative.

Liptember is also supported by a number of Australian celebrities, including official ambassadors, presenter Kelly Landry, media personality Molly Meldrum, Australian chef Philippa Sibley and model Alyse Co’Cliff.

Kelly Landry says: “As a woman, promoting the health and well-being of all women in Australia is really important to me. Our aim is to improve the health of all Australian women be they wives, mothers, sisters and daughters thereby improving the health of the whole community.”

Liptember’s Managing Director, Luke Morris says: “This is our second campaign now and 2011 is looking bigger and better, with aims to double our fundraising efforts from last year.”

Burt’s Bees Marketing Manager, Emma Sykes says: “We’re really proud to be part of Liptember for the second year in a row and, yet again, we urge Australian women to show their support and get involved. It’s a fantastic initiative for such a worthy cause that fits perfectly with the Burt’s Bees commitment to local community initiatives which are part of our Greater Good business model.”

It’s already September and Liptember is underway, you can do your bit to support women’s health by simply purchasing the official lippie and know that your contribution will go towards helping fund vital research. The official shade – Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Hibiscus – has a 100% natural formula that’s designed to leave your lips feeling smooth, healthy and hydrated.

This year’s fundraising target is $110,000. So get involved and make your mark for women’s health by supporting this lip-smacking worthy cause – doing a good deed has never made lips look so good!

For further details check out www.liptember.com.au

* Australian Bureau of Statistics 2007 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing: Summary of Results (published in 2008).