5th Edition of Ride to Mpower Witnessed Around 2000 Mumbaikar Cycle to Raise Mental Health Awareness
by EVENTFAQS Bureau Industry Watch | February 17, 2020 | Press Release
MPower NSCI, Worli
The fifth edition of Ride to Mpower – the annual community cycle ride, an initiative by Mpower which is a pioneer in Indian mental healthcare, brought Mumbai together to create awareness about mental health.
During this event, the city woke up to take a pledge to be more aware about mental health and to #stampoutstigma around this alarming issue with nearly 2000 Mumbaikars coming together to cycle for a cause.
The 27 km ride was flagged off by Neerja Birla, Founder, and Chairperson, Mpower; Aditya Thackeray, Cabinet Minister of Environment, Tourism, and Protocol, Government of Maharashtra & MLA from Worli constituency, Praveen Pardeshi, (IAS Officer) Municipal Commissioner of Mumbai and Aryaman Birla, Cricketer, Entrepreneur, and Head – Aditya Birla Sports at NSCI, Worli on February 16th, 2020. The 15 km ride was flagged off by Mayank Bathwal, Chief Executive Officer at Aditya Birla Health Insurance and Kausar Munir, Bollywood lyricist & screenwriter.
The streets of Mumbai from NSCI, Worli until BKC were filled with enthusiastic Mumbaikars beginning their Sunday with a pledge to increase conversations about mental health and make Mumbai taboo-free. Ride To Empower saw avid participation of cyclists from all walks of life including social and mental health activists, corporate executives, cycling ambassadors, fitness enthusiasts, and college-goers.
Ride to Mpower marked Mpower's most successful awareness initiative as it strives to educate individuals on the correlation between physical and mental health towards an individual’s overall well-being.
Being a fitness aficionado herself, Neerja Birla, through this event, aimed to bring together all fitness champs to pledge their support towards mental health. Commenting on this initiative, Neerja Birla, Founder, and Chairperson, Mpower said, “At Mpower, we always strive to bring about a change in perception and attitude towards mental health in India. We are delighted with the overwhelming support we have received over the past 4 years with Mumbaikars coming out to stamp out stigma around mental health. With this year’s Ride to Mpower, we hope to bring in more cycling and fitness communities together to pave the way for positive conversations about mental health. We are extremely glad to have the support of powerful youth icon Aditya Thackeray and leaders like Praveen Pardeshi, Mayank Bathwal, Kausar Munir and Aryaman Birla who will champion the cause and encourage Mumbaikars to #stampoutstigma around mental health. We want to encourage more and more people to join the movement and create a dialogue about mental health with the same zeal, openness, and seriousness as we do for physical health. After all, a healthy mind and a healthy body both contribute towards an individual's holistic well-being.”
On this occasion, Anita Lobo, Head - Events and Alliances, Mpower said, "Since this was the fifth anniversary of Ride to Mpower, we had to make it big in this edition. At the same time, it was important to engage with the right target audience who would champion for the cause of mental health. We are happy that our participants resonated with the idea of having the right balance between mental and physical health. Moreover, the brands which came on board were also able to actively engage with the audience. Such events are the mainstay of communications for a highly stigmatized topic like mental health. We are elated that Mumbaikars who believed in the cause, came out in large numbers to have more open conversations about mental health. This was ably supported by the key influencers and media alike to amplify the campaign further."
Aditya Thackeray, Cabinet Minister of Environment, Tourism, and Protocol, Government of Maharashtra & MLA from Worli constituency at the flag-off said, “I am extremely happy to be here for such an important cause of creating awareness about mental health. Neerja Birla’s Mpower is doing a fantastic job in alleviating stigma associated with this topic and cycling is a great way to bring the city together. We had started a cycling track at Marine drive to promote cycling, and Birla’s enthusiasm and thought of Ride to Mpower has inspired me to create more initiatives for fitness.”
During this event, the city woke up to take a pledge to be more aware about mental health and to #stampoutstigma around this alarming issue with nearly 2000 Mumbaikars coming together to cycle.