A look back at 2023
Posted on 1st January 2024 at 20:58
A look back at 2023...
And a huge thank you to everyone who has been part of our story this year.
Students at Thomas Bennett Community College have been amazing in their support of us since we launched in 2021, raising vital funds in school and making Christmas decorations for us to sell. This year, a group of Year 10 students chose to support us by running a fundraising cake sale in school. However, they also went on to prepare and deliver a presentation to convince judges that our charity was worth supporting to recieve an outstanding £1000 First Give award! We were so proud that they were able to put together such a compelling presentation and so brave in delivering it in front of others, and of course, we were immensely grateful for the funding awarded, which has been spent in providing our Chill Zone group to young people over the Autumn Term. Thank you so much once again to 10RW and their tutor for all your hard work!
Wear a hat day - March 25th
Wear a Hat Day was a great opportunity to raise vital funds and staff and pupils at Woodgate Primary School 'took the bull by the horns', raising over £65 for us by wearing their hats in school! We were thrilled to be able to talk to the pupils about our work and how they can take care of their own mental and emotional health and so grateful for the support of this lovely community.
A young person leaves a huge legacy...
We were immensely humbled by the huge generosity shown by the family and friends of Hannah Byrne in the sad event of her death in the Autumn of this year. Hannah was just 22 years old when she tragically died, and had been working in the local area as a police officer. Hannah's family told us how passionate she had been about supporting young people with their mental health and how much she had been impacted by this in her own job role. Hannah has left a huge legacy for many people and we were overwhelmed by the support shown to us by her family and friends in a time of such a tragic loss.
A great day with a great bunch!
We had a fantastic day chatting with people and manning our donations buckets with the help from a team at local company Maximus UK, who in their day jobs support local people in finding employment. This team are well aware of the impact that poor mental health can have, as they support local people who have struggles with mental health as well as other disadvantages - such as physical health issues, learning difficulties and those who are refugees - to gain the skills and confidence they need to find work locally. So, we were thrilled to work with this great bunch of people as they committed the day to helping us raise vital finds and awareness of the charity. We hope to work with them again in 2024 and they have told us that next time, they will be sending an even bigger team!
And another great bunch put on their walking boots...
Another lovely bunch took to their feet to raise funds for us in the summer with a sponsored walk around the beautiful Mid Sussex countryside. This team from the Mid Sussex Family Hub spend most of their days supporting local families and young people with a range of issues, including mental ill health, that affect their daily lives and have a massive impact on the outcomes of children and their families. But, it seems, this wasn't enough for them - they wanted to go that extra mile (well, more like 10 miles or more actually), to raise funds to ensure that young people can get the help they need, when they need it. They had a great day and raised over £800 for us - a fantastic acheivement and a fanstastic bunch of people!
"It takes a village to raise a child"
So many people and organisations have been involved in helping us to #changethestory this year and we are so grateful to all of you - your support really does make a difference and thanks to you, we have been able to help an average of 6 young people in each of our four funding rounds this year, amounting to around £10,000 spent on therapy and interventions to make a difference in the lives of our young people. We simply could not do this without the support of our community!
A big thank you!
We would like to thank everyone, including County Mall, St Francis School Choir, Oriel High School, Hazelwick School, Copthorne Guides, Crawley Garden Centre, Cheynes Hair Academy, AIP Exhibitions, Tesco Three Bridges, Three Bridges Football Club, Chequer Mead Theatre, Hawth Theatre, Super Siblings, Free Shop Crawley, YMCA, Wakehurst Place, Maidenbower Schools and Crawley Community Action among many others and those we've already mentioned here, for getting involved this year. "It takes a village to raise a child."
Help us continue to #changethestory
There are so many ways you can get involved in helping us to #changethestory for children and young people in our area - go to our website for more details, or alternatively you can email us at info@yamhs.co.uk
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