A pub in Cornwall has made donations to three mental health charities for Mental Health Awareness Week.
The Driftwood Spars in St Agnes has celebrated another successful year of community fundraising.
Landlady Louise Treseder explained: "Every year our team comes together to brainstorm ideas and nominate organisations that resonate with us personally.
"After discussion, we cast our votes to select the charity that will benefit.
"At the start of 2023 there was wide agreement that mental health should be the focus of our fundraising efforts”.
Following the conclusion of 2023 events and calculations, The Driftwood Spars team have donated £2,500 each to Georgia’s Voice and Man Down, and £1,000 to True Butterflies Foundation.
Ms Treseder spoke about the importance of their fundraising efforts.
She said: "The pervasiveness of poor mental health affects so many aspects of life, interconnecting with issues like local housing, food and fuel poverty, and rural isolation.
"As a hub for the community where people feel they can come and connect with others, we’re helping by raising awareness, nurturing a sense of belonging, and funding our fantastic grassroots organisations to do their amazing work”.
Each funded organisation has a different approach towards meaningfully supporting mental health.
Man Down conducts peer-support discussions for men battling with their mental wellness, while Georgia’s Voice seeks to prevent suicides in young women between 18 and 24.
True Butterflies Foundation provides survivors of domestic violence with mental health support and resources for a fresh start.
In line with this year's Mental Health Awareness Week theme, Movement: Moving more for our mental health, the landlady highlighted their existing initiatives.
She said: "At The Driftwood we initiated a monthly Menopause Support Group which now meets in Chacewater Village Hall every month.
"We also have regular staff and customer sea swims, which is a lovely way to bring people together and gives us all a mental health boost”.
The team’s fundraising efforts for 2024 are already in progress, with Transformation Food Bank being the next intended recipient.
Anna Corbett, chief executive at Transformation Food Bank, said: “Being able to feed yourself and your family is so important as being hungry and going without food affects everyone’s physical and mental health.
"We really are so fortunate to have the support of the Driftwood Spars, and are immensely grateful to Louise, her staff and all their customers for all their hard work on our behalf”.
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