Fighting Macho Culture
One young man is on a mission to get men to open up about their feelings, building an online chat tool with the proceeds of his crowdfunding campaign
This month in Stockholm, we spoke to Mårten Granlund founder of Under Kevlaret (Beneath the Kevlar) about his inspirational fundraising campaign.
Under Kevlaret work to counter macho culture, encouraging more men to share their problems, understand that they are not alone and that there is help available if they feel unable to cope with a situation.
Mårten, 21, started Under Kevlaret in March 2016 after a period of time when two of his closest friends, unconnected to one another, confided in him that they’d either had thoughts about committing suicide or had tried to.
After speaking with Mårten, and sharing their feelings, both friends felt better than they had before, but this experience had a huge impact on Mårten and got him thinking about why young men have such trouble speaking about their emotions and what he could do to help.
Across the globe, death by suicide occurred about 1.7 times more often among males than among females. In Western countries the statistics are even more concerning, with men dying three to four times more often than women by means of suicide. In the UK, for example, it is the single biggest cause of death among men under the age of 45 and a pressing public health concern.
By reducing the stigma around men opening up about their feelings and making it easier for them to do so, Mårten hopes that Under Kevlaret can improve men’s mental health, and have an impact on reducing the number of suicides.
Mårten wants to build an online chat messenger for young men to use and be able to speak to someone if they feel suicidal, depressed, or simply need someone to share their thoughts and feelings with.
“Calling someone or a helpline is a great way to share your feelings and get advice, what I’d like to do is extend the choice to messaging too, which might feel more accessible as more and more it’s the main method of communication for young people.”
Under Kevlaret’s fund page was launched with the aim of raising enough to build the online messenger. Mårten initially contacted friends, family and people he knew were interested in his project, encouraging them to share it through their social networks. He also promoted the page himself through Facebook and Instagram posts.
Eight days later the fund reached the target of 40,000 SEK (£3,700), as well as attracting funding from a bank in his hometown of Vadstena.
“It’s crazy how people that you don’t know, never met or talked with, can donate big amounts of money to make this happen. Thank you isn’t enough, I get quite emotional about it. It’s [crowdfunding] such a nice way to make things that you really want to do happen — including other people in your journey.”
The Under Kevlaret chat messenger is due to launch in 2018 and we will update this page with details when it does!
Mårten’s top tips for a successful charity campaign:
- LOVE — Make sure that people understand that this is something that you really want to do. You need to put your heart into it fully.
- HONESTY — Be clear about what you’re going to use the money for, because people will ask!
- TIME — Don’t be too hard on yourself. Have some ‘ice in your belly’ as we day in Sweden!
Is your charity or organisation interested in setting up a similar fund?
Zohero is the long-term fundraising platform. We think that the best way to make our world a better place, is for us to help charities and community organisations create sustainable relationships with their donors and supporters.
You can easily start your own fund today, read more about how it works on our website or if you’d like to speak to us, visit our Contact page.
If you need a safe place to speak to someone in confidence, whatever is on your mind, in the UK you can contact The Samaritans on 116 123.
In Sweden you can call Hjälplinjen on 0771–22 00 60. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1–800–273–8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14.
