Connor Franta To Headline Men’s Mental Health Campaign For DoSomething.org

Vlogger and entrepreneur Connor Franta is the face of a new awareness campaign from global nonprofit DoSomething.org and Harry’s — a men’s grooming upstart that donates 1% of sales to organizations that support mental health care for men.

The campaign, dubbed Mental Note: Take Time For Yourself, is aimed at getting young men across the country to practice self-care and find mental health resources. The campaign will seek to upend the stigmas that exist around young men to discussing mental health issues, which result in worse rates of symptom recognition and less of a likelihood to seek resources.

As part of the campaign, DoSomething has tapped Franta — who previously discussed his struggles with depression in his memoir, Note To Self, and who counts 5.3 million YouTube subscribers — to star in a new PSA video. (Franta has participated in past campaigns for charities including GLSEN and The Thirst Project

). His new video will seek to drive participation in the campaign, whereby participants can share virtual cards with the men in their lives, urging them to take time out for a mental health check-in. All participants will also automatically be entered to win a $2,500 scholarship from DoSomething.org.

“It took time and patience to come to terms with my own mental health struggles before I found the courage to share that experience with my loving family, friends, and dedicated viewers online,” Franta said in a statement. “For many of us, particularly men, the stigma around vulnerability holds far too much power, and ultimately prevents us from obtaining the support they need.”

In addition to Franta’s flagship PSA, the campaign will involve other young male influencers who will create content to amplify the cause among their followers. This includes: LGBTQ+ advocate Jake Bain, rapper Skizzy Mars, transgender journalist Leo Sheng, musician Ryan Cassata, and Humboldt Broncos bus crash survivor Tyler Smith.

DoSomething is certainly no stranger to working with influencers. Past campaigns have tapped Amanda Steele, iJustine, Ingrid Nilsen, Kingsley, Jenn McAllister, Tyler Oakley, and Andrea Russett.