North Yorkshire Sport firmly believe that everyone should experience good mental wellbeing and are launching a new fundraising campaign to help support this vision.
Through our own staff and through public fundraising the fund will support the delivery of sport and physical activity that contributes to the improved mental health and well-being of North Yorkshire residents.
We undertake and operate a wide range of activity across North Yorkshire that is underpinned by our mission of 'driving positive change through sport and physical activity', but we wanted to take an even more proactive stance by raising money for an area of work we believe is of great value.
David Watson our Chief Executive said, 'We know that poor mental health can affect peoples lives negatively, but we also know how powerful sport and physical activity can be in helping those who might be suffering. We want this new fund to help those in need, but also inspire others to come forward and contribute by raising awareness or raising money for the cause.'
The first event people can get involved in either donating or participating is the Total Warrior Great Northern Mud Run on Sunday 23rd June 2019 where our staff team will be taking part alongside some brave partners! If you want find out more visit our Wonderful page here or get in touch for details if you fancy the challenge. We will be planning other challenges throughout the year.
How else can I help?
If you are planning on taking part in a challenge or creating an event to raise funds for charity, you can now contribute to the new fund via our giving page.
How will my money help people in North Yorkshire?
In many ways.
We will spend proceeds from the fund helping local providers of sport and physical activity with mental health awareness training to better identify and support those suffering poor mental health. We will also be seeking to fund projects to help those working with people with mental health issues to be more physically active. We're also open to your ideas and suggestions - especially if you are working in this space and need help to get a new project off the ground.
How does physical activity improve mental health?
Physical activity and sport can improve mental health in many ways. Sport England's strategy 'Towards an Active Nation' cites mental wellbeing as one of the five key outcomes, and they have also collated all the supporting evidence if you want to read more.
Key benefits:
- Improved mood
- Reduced stress
- Better self esteem
- Managing depression & anxiety symptoms
How do I get started?
Simple - decide on a way to raise money (Google is your friend!), set up a way for people to donate (we use Wonderful.org), tell everyone you know, and keep shouting about it until they donate some money!