Thanks for taking the time to visit our fundraising page for our charity partners, Sport in Mind.

This is a page for the Berks and Bucks FA Team and the wider football community to collectively show their support to the work SPORT IN MIND do for mental health in our local area.

WMHD - Thursday 10th October 2024

This will be our 3rd year as a team completing a challenge to raise awareness and funds for Mental Health and our partners Sport in Mind. This year we are undertaking another walk, but with stop offs at local football clubs where we will undertake sporting challenges - for physical and mental health!

WMHD - Tuesday 10th October 2023 - 195 Mile Walk

Last Year we took on a cycling challenge, this year on World Mental Health Day, we will be walking a combined 195 miles - to represent the 195 countries where 'Mental Health Is a Universal Right'.

The team are taking on a 15 mile 'Walk and Talk' to raise awareness this year, as well as encouraging our wider football community to pledge their support across social media and their networks.

WMHD - Monday 10th October 2022 - 185 Miles Cycling

Berks and Bucks FA staff took part in a 185 mile continuous stationary bike challenge; 185 is particularly significant as it represents the number of people who took their own lives in Berks & Bucks during 2021. The staff took it in turns to keep the wheels moving. Staff were also on hand to answer any questions on football and the role football can play in supporting mental health.

As a leader in football, Berks & Buck FA has a responsibility to every participant that is involved or wants to be involved in the game. Berks and Bucks FA engages with over 80,000 participants in a given season and with at least 1 in 4 people in the UK experiencing mental health issues each year we are keen to acknowledge and support everyone’s relationship with their mental health.

To this end, Berks and Bucks FA have partnered with Berkshire based, national charity, Sport in Mind, and will be working on several exciting projects to raise the profile of mental health and the positive relationship sport can have in people’s lives.

Sport in Mind, the UK’s leading mental health sports charity, was established in Reading in 2010 and their mission is to improve the lives of people experiencing mental health problems through sport and physical activity. The charity’s work is endorsed by the NHS and has gained widespread national acclaim, and Berks and Bucks FA are excited to partner with a charity whose ethos aligns so closely to our own.

Liz Verrall, Berks and Bucks FA, CEO, said: “Partnering with Sport in Mind is part of our public commitment to the football community, recognising the equal importance of physical and mental health. Our purpose and why we do what we do is to 'Connect People and Change Lives'.

"We take our responsibility to use the power of football to engage and communicate important messages seriously. Our partnership with Sport in Mind is an exciting prospect. I look forward to working closely with Neil and his team over the coming years and to add value to such an important area of our health.”