I hope you are all healthy in these strange times and
enjoying the spring weather!!

Can you help???

George Heard, Holly Elsworth and Dan Graves are undertaking
challenges for the entirety of May to raise money for an amazing local charity
– Arc.

We are aware that many of you may be struggling financially
and have already generously donated to a range of charities, please do not feel obliged to give!

George and Dan decided that they wanted to do something for a mental
health charity, after seeing their benefits on friends and the magnitude of the issue.

• 1 in 10 children have a diagnosable mental
  health problem in Devon
• Funding for CAHMS (NHS U18 mental health service) is 0.7% of the NHS budget /
  only 6% of mental health expenditure.
• CAHMS turn away over ¼ of those referred to
  them.
• Over the last 5yrs CAHMS funding has suffered
  a net loss of over £50m for England.

They need more money than ever at the moment :

1. They cannot fundraise. Donations are being
   slashed. Events, such as the London Marathon raising £67m/ yr are cancelled.
   They are finding it extremely difficult to cope financially and continue to offer their great services.
2. More people than ever need them.

We have leaped in the saddle and here`s our craic…The challenge

Dan will be running 1km on May 1^st, 2 on the 2^nd up to the 31 on the 31^st! = 500km by the end of May!

George will be cycling double his distance each day so 2km on May 1^st, 4 on the 2^nd up to 62 on the 31^st!
He does not regularly run or cycle so this is a mammoth challenge! = 995km in May! 

These are huge undertakings requiring great self – discipline, commitment and determination.

The charity

We were going to go for a national charity such as MIND,
Youngminds, or Samaritans but special local ones are as important helping our community directly, are often forgotten and urgently need funds - every penny WILL have a visible impact. They rely fully on YOUR donations!!

Arc are a team of experienced, qualified therapists
providing counselling and pro services like Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing. They also train frontline mental health workers in the area.

They help those with PTSD and all mental health issues.

They are vital at this time as they support those
through times of change, trauma and loss to re-build self-esteem, confidence and self-worth after having overwhelming feelings of fear, stress, and despair.

Holly E, yr. 13

• After recovering physically, from an accident at
  work leaving her confined to a wheelchair for a couple of weeks, she was diagnosed with PTSD.
• This caused her personality and lifestyle to
  flip and resulted to her not leaving the house.
• With Arc, she completed a few amazing sessions
  and check-ups before lockdown brought these to a halt which put her back on track to being herself at a time when it looked difficult.
• We will be helping her raise funds and
  supporting her as she raises money by running 100km in May and her link is below to donate to that, also, if you`d prefer or to put some motivation!