By Isabella Gallagher Rattan
Thursday 10th October 2024 – Mental Health Awareness Day
As you may have noticed (by the repeated reminders) I held a fundraiser for HFEH Mind at little break and after school on Thursday this week.
But what does that actually mean? Where did the countless snacks come from and where did all your generous donations go?
HFEH Mind stands for Hammersmith, Fulham, Ealing and Hounslow Mind, and they are a mental health charity that helps our local area (a separate organisation from National Mind with local priorities, that fundraises separately from National Mind). HFEH Mind generously helped with a large boxful of snacks and sweet treats. In addition, the St Augustine’s Priory Parents’ Committee generously donated drinks and countless crisps!
The money everyone has spent will go straight to Mind, and could even directly impact you or someone you know! This is because HFEH Mind has many new and exciting initiatives intended to help young people living in Ealing who are either struggling with their mental health, or just need a bit of help managing it. Remember, our brains are not evolved particularly well to twenty-first century life, leading to the fight-or-flight response triggered by things that don’t actually require physically running away from them or fighting them, which can cause unnecessarily high levels of stress and anxiety in our day to day lives. Examples of initiatives are the new Safe Spaces, and the Circle Crisis Cafe on South Ealing Road, and their online resources (www.hfehmind.org.uk). My favourite of their initiatives is the Circle Cafe, which is a crisis prevention service designed to positively contrast to the clinical atmosphere of hospitals or CAHMS. The decor and lighting and people create a friendly atmosphere. They can provide CBT therapy and one-to-one counselling sessions, and aim to support everyone’s individual needs.
It is safe to say that the fundraiser was a success, as the refectory was heaving with people and we sold out of nearly everything with the remainder going on sale again at Fright Night, and the money also going to Mind. Whilst I haven’t got the final numbers in, it is looking very promising from the heavy box I struggled to carry up to the bursary office! Keep an eye out for the final figures, as I’ll be updating this article when I get the exact numbers of how much money we’ve all raised together.
Some background for the event: I first had this idea in a fundraising brainstorming session at HFEH Mind, and it started out as just a suggestion on a mindmap that I never thought could happen as it had never been done before. But many people were encouraging. I brought the idea to Mrs Macallister. Mrs Lenton and Miss Masih were extremely helpful in making it happen. My advice is if you ever have any fundraising ideas, there’s always a way to implement them! You can email me if you need any help, and never be afraid to reach out with your ideas, as if they come from a good place, they’ll always be someone willing to help.
HFEH Mind as a charity is very close to my heart, and not just because I work there as part of their Young Advisors (paid!) programme, but because they’ve been helpful. Previously, I’ve struggled with my mental health, particularly around exams, and they’ve always been there. I chose to support them because I wanted to give back to them for what they do for the community, so thank you hugely to everyone for helping me achieve Thursday’s fundraiser.
If you ever need any support with your mental health, you can talk to Miss Steuart, Miss Hales, or visit these links:
HFEH Mind: www.hfehmind.org.uk
The Mix: https://www.themix.org.uk/
Samaritans: www.samaritans.org
Childline: www.childline.org.uk
YoungMinds: www.youngminds.org.uk
