Pictured at the launch of Beat the Blues secondary schools programme was Gerry O’Brien, Head of Fundraising and Business Development Aware, Fergal Harrington, Group Brand Development Manager Maxol and 6th year students from Loreto College Stephens Green.

Leading forecourt and convenience retailer, Maxol today announced its support of Aware’s Beat the Blues programme taking place in 2017 in secondary schools nationwide.

Beat the Blues is an interactive programme, which encourages positive mental health and well-being amongst teenagers aged 15-18. It is delivered to 30,000 students in 460 schools across the country each year. 

This year, Maxol is helping Aware to fund the programme in secondary schools as part of its official charity partnership.

The Beat the Blues programme explores key areas relating to mental wellbeing:

• Principles for good mental health and actions that can help

• Why similar situations impact people in different ways

• The role of core beliefs

• How to prevent or recognise depression and anxiety

• The importance of resilience and how to build it

Speaking about the launch of the programme, Fergal Harrington, Group Brand Development Manager at Maxol said, 

“We are proud to be part of Beat the Blues this year. The programme is designed to help teenagers understand the importance of looking after their mental health and with the support of our network of local retailers, we are helping to shine a light on this important subject.”

Gerry O’Brien, Head of Fundraising and Business Development at Aware said,

“The Beat the Blues programme teaches helpful and practical skills that teenagers can use to cope with life’s challenges. The feedback we get from both students and teachers shows that the programme is helping to create awareness and education in this really important area. Beat the Blues will be delivered in secondary schools nationwide between now and May 2017 and we are very appreciative of Maxol’s support of this initiative.” 

The charity partnership will run until at least the end of 2017. It will support the range and level of important services delivered by Aware in the Republic of Ireland and AWARE NI in Northern Ireland.

For more information on Aware, please visit www.aware.ie  and for Maxolwww.maxol.ie.

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About the Maxol Group

• The Maxol Group was established in 1920 by William McMullan.  The 4^th generation of the family are Company Directors.
• Maxol makes a significant contribution to the economy on both sides of the border and markets a comprehensive range of oil and petroleum products to the Irish Market, through their Retail Fuel Card and Lubricants divisions.
• The Maxol Group had an annual turnover of €640m in 2015. 
• The company employs directly and indirectly more than 1,000 people across the island of Ireland.
• Maxol has been investing and expanding in recent years and currently has a network of 234 service stations, of which 111 are company owned.
• The new food brand Moreish – Fresh Food at Maxol was launched in 2014 and is currently in 31 Maxol service stations and growing.  It won ‘Best Oil Company Initiative’ at Ireland’s Forecourt & Convenience Awards 2015.
• Maxol was voted the most reputable oil company in Ireland for four consecutive years between 2012 to 2015 by Corporate Reputations independent survey.

About Aware – Aware is the national organisation providing support, education and information services around depression and bipolar disorder. Founded in 1985 the organisation now offers:

Support

Support Groups* | 38 locations nationwide | 12,600 visits each year

Support Line | FREEPHONE 1800 80 48 48 | open 365 days a year, 10am-10pm | 11,000 calls each year 

Support Mail | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 2,300 emails each year 

Education

Beat the Blues | Schools talk | Life Skills 6-session programme | Online programme | c. 30,000 students each year

Life Skills | Group – Nationwide | Online | 2,500 participants each year

Wellness@Work | Positive Mental Health at Work | 136 sessions nationwide | 3,000 employees each year 

Information

Aware website | 285,000 unique visits, p.a. 

Aware lectures | 173,000 views, p.a.

F: AwareIreland

T: @Aware