Maccas Blog 4
Spring gave us some very mixed weather, but here at MACCAS we are certainly blooming and growing. We are building relationships with the community at a rapid pace and you know we like to keep you all up to date!
On 2nd March we attended an event at Keele University for ‘University Mental Health Day’. We held a stand providing students with the opportunity to pick up some of our merchandise. They also got the chance to talk with us about themselves, friends or family and we heard many stories of mental health experiences. On the day staff and students held a sponsored walk raising £194.73 for MACCAS Project! Its events like this that allow people to come together and talk about mental health openly, we enjoy our good relationship with Keele University. We also now have a strong bond with Ruff and Ruby in Potteries’ shopping centre; working alongside them for ‘Heads Together’ on 20th April. We held a stand and spoke to people about physical and mental health; do we look after one more than another?
We delivered workshops to 248 pupils in St John Fisher Catholic College and Endon High School. When asked for their opinion on our session some students said; my knowledge is much better, very good, informative, very well presented, helpful. We are constantly updating our workshops and have other presentations in development.
Working alongside businesses has also proved exciting during the spring months. Leonie Wiring invited us over for a presentation ceremony where we honoured to receive £1000 for MACCAS. FedEx also asked us to attend their ‘Mental Health in the Workplace’ event which was held over a full week. We talked to staff about all our services at Mind and they shared stories of their own experiences with mental health. They also kindly raised £113.39 for us by holding a ‘Dress down Day’. It’s exciting to see how many companies are starting to incorporate days like these into their schedule. If you would like to us to visit your workplace, or to set a stand up with information for employees please let us know.
Our group work goes from strength to strength; we hold therapy groups in schools and colleges and also run a drop in on the first Thursday of each month at Pilgrims Pit, Stoke. Feel free to come along to the drop in and join us! We have been getting wonderful feedback from our attendees and we listen to the needs of each group to how are sessions will run, which means each group is completely unique.
If you haven’t already heard Jack and Will ran the Marathon and absolutely smashed their £4000 fundraising target and totted up over £5000! We are all extremely proud of the boys and recognise the dedication they put into raising money for MACCAS; it’s because of people like them we can keep delivering our project in such an effective way.
Also over the spring period we have worked alongside YOT (Youth Offending Team), Burslem College, Co-Operative Academy, Clayton High, St Josephs Catholic College, YMCA and Newcastle Methodist Church, reaching many young people and their families. Here’s to the summer months and making more of a difference in how mental health is perceived!
We shall leave you with an inspirational poem by the talented writer and performer Jason N Smith;
Confidant
When weighty matters get too much
You can write to alleviate and it does
When there’s a voice so loud it roars
You can use a pen as battle swords
When stressed, to confused to think
You can write reality into which to sink
When being provoked inside a prison
Write a diary, a confidant that listens
