I have always been a very keen
fundraiser. As a child I always wanted to get involved in helping charities or
people in need. With my friends I helped to arrange coffee mornings in the
village hall, collections of necessities to be sent to those in extreme poverty
and bric-a-brac sales in my driveway. I have always been passionate about
giving to charities, and this is a personal attribute that has only been
enhanced due to my own experiences.
Pen and paper in hand, I began to scribble
down ways that money could be raised for two fantastic charities- Mind and SEED
Eating Disorder Support Service, as a stallholder at the annual show in my village.
The main focus that I had in mind was for the setting to feel approachable. Not
only in terms of the fundraising opportunity, but also for people to feel that
they could comfortably engage in the activities, and ask questions about the reasoning
behind my appearance there.
As anticipated, the raffle and Play Your
Cards Right set up was very well received. Thanks to multiple fantastic
donations for prizes, I was overwhelmed at the outstanding collection on
display- there was no wonder it was so popular! The amount of businesses and
local people that generously donated was beyond my expectations, making a
massive contribution to the profile of the stall.
Play Your Cards Right was very kindly
hosted by two fantastic friends of mine- Leah and Sarah, who selflessly
dedicated their day to the cause. Their incredible personalities attracted an
audience of all ages and made the game a great addition to the atmosphere of
the stall!
I also wanted an activity that could have a
hidden meaning incorporated. Guessing Jars are a little activity that anybody
can get involved in and I thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to
give a visual representation of a statistic about mental illness in the UK. I
did some research and came across a fact that, once revealed, would really make
people question there ideas about mental illness. Finding two contrasting
coloured sweets- Black Jacks and Fruit Salads- I began filling a jar with
carefully counted amounts in response to the statistic that 1 in 4 people are
suffering with a mental health condition. The Black Jacks represented the
individual experiencing mental difficulties and the Fruit Salads signified
those that are healthy. I wanted people to see just how many people this type
of illness affects, giving them the opportunity to realise that if they are
going through it, they are not alone. In hindsight, I maybe should have
promoted this fact at the time, as well as following the event on social media.
However, I felt that it would be more effective for people to contemplate the
fact after a fun day with their family, as apposed to confronting quite a
shocking statistic whilst the activities were in full swing.
On the other hand, I made no secret of the
fact that I was attending the show as a result of my own personal difficulties.
I embellished the tables with leaflets and business cards, kindly given to me
by Mind and SEED to help with my efforts in raising awareness of their
services. I also made some business cards of my own to promote my blog, as I
felt that this was a resource that people could look to if they wanted to learn
about eating disorders from a personal perspective. I was thrilled at the
response that this harnessed, with people openly asking why I was raising money
for the two specific charities. I explained about difficulties and guided them
to my blog to learn more about it, which I can only hope will have the desired
positive impact.
Although my initial motivations for hosting
a stall at the local show was to raise money and to raise awareness of mental
illness, I did not anticipate the amount of happiness I would feel from doing
such an event. Speaking to local people, catching up with old friends and
seeing people that I haven’t seen for many years; the social experience was fantastic.
Team that with the positive comments that I received about my determination to
make a difference in this sector of health and charity work, I came home
feeling elated and empowered. Hearing other people’s experiences of the mental
health services, and comparing them to that of my own, it fuelled my
aspirations to make change happen.
After quite a demanding week in terms of
appointments and heightened emotions, this event was just what I needed to make
me realise why I wake up in a morning and continue to fight through my
struggles. I am not going to make out that I am going to wake up tomorrow
morning and everything will be fine, but for as long as I continue to struggle,
I will remind myself of the joy I have experienced from doing such positive
events. I think the important thing for me to focus on, especially after days
like today, is that I need to fight this for me, fight it properly and fight it
for good. Not fight it for everybody else.
I must better my health and myself, before
I can better the lives of others. But there will be no stopping my determination to support the fantastic charities of Mind and SEED Eating Disorder Support Service- so that they can continue to help those in desperate need.
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