Richard Branson & Virgin Mobile Australia launch RUOK? Campaign in aid of Suicide Prevention

It’s been less than a month since Sir Richard Branson joined the illustrious list of billionaires investing in mHealth startups (via an angel investment in DoctorOnDemand) and now he’s supporting (via his Virgin Mobile Australia brand offering free national rate calls for a day) an innovative campaign to encourage people to talk to and offer support to friends and family that they might not be getting to see much:

“New research from Virgin Mobile Australia has found that almost three in five Aussies (57%) are calling their family and friends less frequently since the rise of social media. To encourage people to have regular and meaningful conversations by picking up the phone, Virgin Mobile Australia are offering free national calls to our customers this RUOK? Day. I urge all other Australian telephone companies to follow suit and also offer free calls on RUOK? Day too. Nine out of 10 people said they feel genuinely cared about when they get a phone call from a loved one. It’s a simple act to call somebody up and ask if they are ok, but it can make all the difference. Asking “Are you OK?” is something we can all do to help someone who may be struggling with life. We want you to call someone up and simply ask them “Are you OK?” in aid of suicide prevention. We don’t need to be experts or have the answers if someone admits they’re not OK. As friends we can listen to what they’re going through and let them know we care”