Mental Health problems among young people are at an all-time high, with one in five young people experiencing issues. The Abingdon Bridge (TAB) and Didcot Boxing Academy are doing an amazing job by working together to improve the lives of young people in the Community, but in line with other Charity and Voluntary organisations, they need your support.

The Ice Mile Challenge:
Paul Blair and his team of swimmers are planning a Trunks only lake Swim Challenge on New Year’s Eve 2021 in support of The Abingdon Bridge and Didcot Boxing Academy. The water temperature is likely to be between 5 and 7℃. That’s very cold and a worthy challenge. The challenge is to swim five Ice Miles – Paul Blair, Simon Welsh, Simon Hamlet and Martin Cross will aim to swim one ice mile each with the other ice mile shared (relay style) among Kelly Brewerton-Webb, Johnny Dobson, Nickellé Hall and Seamus Power who make up the rest of the team. To be able to do this they are training and acclimatising their bodies to the cold with weekly cold swims and regular cold showers.

You may think they are MAD! Well yes they are, Motivated And Determined to prepare and complete this amazing challenge. But surprisingly cold water is good for us! The shock of a cold water dip releases many beneficial hormones that aid not only healthy blood and circulation but also helps address mental health issues such as depression, self worth issues. Plus professional athletes now use ice baths post training to reduce inflammation which aids muscle and wound recovery.

So why not join them for a dip! Or if you can’t face a dip in the lake, please can you dip your hand into your pocket and boost their morale by sponsoring them. All donations will go to The Abingdon Bridge and Didcot Boxing Academy.

The Abingdon Bridge (TAB) is a mental health charity bridging the gap in services for young people aged 13-25. They do this through intervention work and their free counselling service for young people. They aim to:
• Support young people with timely interventions when they need it;
• Promote good mental health in young people and young adults through community and school partnerships;
• Inspire excellence and achieve integrated services;
• Develop outstanding services to build young people and young adults’ resilience;
• Deliver innovative programmes to meet the needs of vulnerable young people and young adults.
Why not find out more about the programmes of support available from TAB here: https://www.theabingdonbridge.org.uk

The Didcot Boxing Academy, lead by Head Coach Kieran Davies, has over 180 members – all of whom are part of a massive family, and need a larger gym to accommodate the extra demand from the community.

The new gym will be 16m x 16m and is being built by volunteers, members from within the gym, who have committed to give their time, skills and expertise freely, but the Academy still requires £40,000-£60,000 for materials and to meet building regulations, plus those unexpected costs that arise as the build progresses.

The new gym is not just about boxing, it will enable the Academy to accommodate demand from the community for extra sessions, introduce mentally and physically disabled boxing, introduce OAP low impact stretch and mobility sessions, offer summer camps at an affordable price, hold self-defence for ladies, teaching how to read situations and how to act on instinct, and offer corporate training to local companies. The Boxing Academy is also going down the traditional route of amateur boxing to enhance potential careers in boxing.

The gym will also have a box on the wall. A mental health box. This box will be 100% discretion assured. The coaches will have access to the box and will be available 24/7 to our students. The Academy will have access to a male and female Councillor to contact anyone who either leaves a note in the box or approaches one of the coaches.