Some of you will know that I'm very much not a natural runner - I made it round the Thames Path Challenge 10k (pictured) in about 90 minutes last year and this year I want to go further and actually race the 10 kilometres (eeeek!). But why?

Because Mental Health care is so incredibly important, as is talking about mental health. I had a pretty horrible nervous breakdown while I was at university and one of the worst parts of it was feeling alone - sure, I'd heard the statistics that 1 in 4 people will be affected by a mental health problem, but that didn't help in the moment. What helped was a few sessions with a counsellor from my university pastoral care service - the four hours I had from that service put me on a path to full recovery. Every time the New Year rolls around, I'm another year further from my most rubbish time, and I wouldn't be where I am today without that counselling support.

Unfortunately, access to counselling services can be incredibly tough. Waiting lists on the NHS have spiralled out of control, a consequence of continual under-funding. So Mental Health UK is there to help advice workers get in touch with people who need them. People just like you or me, who may look and seem to be functioning perfectly well, but whose lives feel like trying to run through treacle and who can't remember what it feels like for their default mood to be 'happy.'

Worries about money can exacerbate mental health problems. I looked after my housemates' monthly rent payments, so I didn't want to let the people I was living with know how tough I was finding things and bottled it up far longer than I should have - for many people, the links between money problems and mental health problems run deeper and with far more lasting consequences. That's why I'm really proud that Lloyds will establish the UK's first combined Mental Health and Money Advice Service, which will offer practical, personal guidance and information for any member of the public who is worried about their finances as a result of mental illness, or vice versa.

£10 could allow an advice worker to answer a call from someone in desperate need of advice and support with their mental health and money problems.

£19 could help provide one hour of time for someone to provide tailored advice and information by email, providing vital tools to support people and help them take their first steps to managing their mental health and money.

£20 could help establish and maintain a unique new online source of information, so people can get advice on mental health and money 24/7.

£100 could help train an advice worker to provide one-to-one support.

£500 (my fundraising goal) could help fund three advice workers for a day, providing people with the tools to support themselves and take their first steps to managing their mental health and money.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. I work for Lloyds Banking Group and we are proud to be working in partnership with Mental Health UK in 2017 and 2018. We're aiming to raise at least £2 million per year. Mental Health UK is a network of four national charities working across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to improve the lives of people with mental illness, and to support carers. Together Rethink Mental Illness, Support in Mind Scotland, Hafal, and MindWise have worked for over 40 years to provide services, information, and advice to support anyone affected by mental illness. The Group will match the first £500 of donations received, making your £5 - the cost of a Chicken Legend meal with a Coke - pay for an advice worker to speak with someone who desperately needs their help.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.