‘It’s Ideal to talk’ … we’ve expanded our partnership with Andy’s Man Club

We’ve widened our partnership with suicide prevention charity Andy’s Man Club to help stamp out the stigma surrounding men’s mental health.

We’re reminding installers “It’s Ideal to talk”, encouraging more men to speak out about how they are feeling and share their experiences with mental health.

To do this, we teamed up with Andy’s Man Club last year and we’re now delighted to announce the partnership has been expanded to help even more people.

Andy’s Man Club volunteers joined us at InstallerSHOW, held at Birmingham’s NEC from June 25-27.

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 54. On average, one man takes his own life in the UK every two hours.

Working together, Ideal Heating and Andy’s Man Club are aiming to tackle the stigma that still surrounds male mental health and, crucially, save lives.

Luke Pykett, our Head of Brand Marketing, said: “We’re delighted to have expanded our partnership with Andy’s Man Club, helping ensure our community of installers and partners knows there’s somewhere to go where they can speak freely and meet people experiencing similar issues.

“Working closely with Andy’s Man Club has served as a stark reminder of how many of us either know someone who has lost their life due to mental health, or who has gone through a difficult situation.

“We hope our partnership will play an important part in breaking the stigma surrounding men’s mental health and remind installers we work with that they’re part of the wider Ideal family.”

We’ve exhibited once again at InstallerSHOW – the UK’s largest event for installers and specifiers of heat, water, air and energy technology.

Andy’s Man Club volunteers joined our team at InstallerSHOW and spoke to installers about the partnership.

The charity has more than 120 free support groups across the country, running every Monday from 7pm, except bank holidays.

With more than 2,800 men attending sessions every week, Andy’s Man Club is designed to be free of pressure. There is no obligation to speak and men can simply turn up and listen if they wish.

It has a team of more than 900 volunteers, working together to remind men that #ItsOkayToTalk.

Lucas Whitehead, Andy’s Man Club’s Marketing and Partnerships Champion, said: "We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to spread the word about our groups and our message.

“Suicide remains the biggest killer of men under the age of 54 and, even more shockingly, men working in high-skilled trades are the second most likely of all occupational groups to take their own life.

“To have the opportunity to be in front of these men regularly at roadshows, trade events and through content we create will undoubtedly allow us to impact more lives in a positive way.

“A massive thanks to Ideal Heating for all their support. As a donation-led charity, it means the world and will help us get a step closer to showing every man in the UK that #ItsOkayToTalk."