We spoke with Irish designer and broadcaster Brendan Courtney to find out how and why he got involved with his latest charity partnership with Aware.
The charity supports and helps people who experience depression or bipolar disorder and their concerned loved ones.
Brendan told us why he decided to get involved: "I have a relationship with AWARE, they do brilliant work and I think this charity promotion is a really clever way for people to help."
The presenter also believes that more needs to be done in Ireland to improve the services available to those who need it, especially in the area of mental health:
"I feel without the work of charities like this one, there really are very limited resources open to people. We train our bodies and try to eat well to stay fit and healthy and we go the doctor when we're sick.
"However, when it comes to working on mental health or even asking for help, there still seems to be a negative social stigma that organisations like this one are trying to break."
As the year comes to a close, Brendan shares his hopes for 2018: "Firstly, I really hope people who feel isolated or depressed reach out to AWARE. And generally I hope our broken health care system gets better funding and I hope we take bigger steps to fixing the housing crisis."
This Christmas, Maxol is supporting the charity by donating 10 cents from every hot beverage sold across its 115 stations across the country. The charity partnership aims to promote positive mental health in communities nationwide.
