My name is Taylor Lawrence and I am a Brakeman for the GB1 bobsleigh team (Team Bobsleigh Brad) as well as a serving Royal Marines Commando. Despite finishing 4th at the World Championships in 2019, we continue to be an unfunded outfit, which forces us to source funding of our own to continue competing internationally. Since then we have been extremely lucky to find some generous sponsors that have kept us on our journey towards the Winter Olympic Games in 2022. They ask for absolutely nothing in return except that we perform to the best of our ability.

The team and myself thought that because we have been so fortunate there must be a way that we could give back to others. After a discussion with our private sponsor, he offered to cover our season costs and allow us to each dedicate the 2020/2021 season to a chosen charity that we each hold close to our hearts. For myself, that was the Royal Marines Charity.

I have supported this charity before I was a Royal Marine, and I support it even more actively now I am serving. I have seen the amazing things that it has done and continues to do for the Royal Marines family and I would like to try and give something small back. 

The charity play a massive role in supporting serving and former Royal Marines, as well as their families and wider communities. The charity has helped support me in many different ways. It allowed me to travel to America with the Corps to take part in the Virginia gauntlet sport's exercise. Following this, I went to Gibraltar to play Rugby, representing the Marines, and now it has helped me with my Great Britain bobsleigh career and Olympic dream. 

As well as all of that, one of the main initiatives that I want to support within the charity is ‘Lifting The Lid’. This initiative seeks to encourage people to ask for help across the Corps family at times of need, as well as help tackle the stigma around mental health and help to promote positive mental health. My mum struggled seriously with her mental health a few years ago. At the time I didn’t fully understand how it can affect people in certain ways, and I didn't know if there was anything I could do to help. But as I began to learn more about it and through 'lifting the lid', I became an avid promoter in raising awareness about mental health and where you or your families can go to find the help they need. 

Seeking help is a strength, not a weakness. After all, just as we look after our physical health, it is just as important to look after our mental health.

Thank you for reading my story and please donate!

Taylor Lawrence and Team Bobsleigh Brad