S.A.M
In January Kelly took part in the R.E.D January challenge for Mind in memory of Sam. This involved running everyday of January, requiring a great deal of determination. Having herself experienced a form of mental illness, Kelly wanted to do something to raise awareness and she raised a total of £200, which is incredible!
The total raised through the R.E.D communities fundraising efforts for Mind was £764,530!!
You can see photos of Kelly on the gallery page.
Sarah Wood is taking on the immense challenge of running the London Marathon in 3 weeks. She is running for 'Ashgate Hospicecare' and for every mile Sarah is running in memory of someone. Mile 12 will be in memory of Sam! This is such a lovely idea and so inspiring. To support Sarah you can follow her every step through the London marathon app on the 22nd April or even go down and support her.
This is Sarah's fundraising page and I know she would appreciate any donations. - https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=SarahWood217&pageUrl=3
We as a family feel touched that Sarah is taking on this challenge and will be supporting her through the day, especially as she gets to mile 12.
This enlightening video is well worth a watch. It introduces several people of different ages, all whom have experienced some sort of mental illness. It provides knowledge into the lives of those who can literally no longer cope, yet with medical support and early intervention their lives are transformed. We would love to see this happening more; people speaking out and sharing their stories without that "shame" or "embarassment". We can help by donating to various mental health challenges who are trying to put measures in place to try and rapidly make such change.
To view just click the link below:
https://vimeo.com/48721158
Andrea was a former work colleague of Sam's. Having herself suffered from severe anxiety, knows to some extent how Sam was feeling and how incredibly difficult it is to live with such an illness.
She is running not only in memory of Sam but also to try and break this stigma associated with mental health and to try and take away the "judgement" surrounding this illness.
Andrea is raising money for "Heads Together", a charity as many of you are aware we are strongly supporting. You can read more about this charity by clicking the link below or clicking on the "charity links" tab on the top of this website.
If you feel able to donate, I know Andrea would really appreciate it and so would we. You can do so by clicking Andrea's Virgin Money Giving page below.
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=AndreaWhitehead3&pageUrl=1
https://www.headstogether.org.uk/
After reading the story of Sam's life you may be thinking why would this young man, someone who could have had it all, someone who had such great potential feel so worthless and out of control of his own feelings? You look at celebrities today who seem to have it all together or who post the best parts of their lives through social media yet keep a part of their lives private, a part that people need to hear about as much as they hear about their achievements. Michael Phelps, 23-time Olympic gold medalist, first gold medal won at the age of 15 has recently spoken about his mental health and said "I didn't want to be in the sport anymore. I didn't want to be alive. You do contemplate suicide.". I bet you were surprised to read that from one of the greatest swimmers around. In fact, as my father shared Michaels story with us (can be read on the following link) we all said 'wow, that was as if Sam had written it himself'.