As a Leeds-based company, supporting our local area is incredibly important to us.

In the past, we've run some small initiatives to collect donations for local charities, but going forward, we wanted to do more. So this year, our team have all had an input and we've chosen a charity of the year.

Our charity of the year is Leeds Mind.

Leeds Mind supports the people of Leeds and surrounding areas to discover their own resources to 'recover' from periods of poor mental health, and to live life independently with their mental health condition.

1 in 4 people experience mental health difficulties in their lives, whether that be depression, anxiety, isolation, stress, self harm, personality disorder, bereavement or any other negative mental health experience.

Many of the Independence Mobility and Medical Hire teams have been touched by mental health challenges - whether that's ourselves or people close to us and around us - so the decision to support Leeds Mind this year was an easy one.

To raise money for Leeds Mind, we're planning some company-wide challenges, some of which are now complete.

Our first team challenge was a Peloton cycle challenge. We collectively rode 225 miles - the distance between Glasgow and Leeds, where Independence Mobility started and where we are based now.

For our second challenge, Independence Mobility Director Anthony Mitchell and Medical Hire's Dan Thackray took part in the Leeds Mind Firewalk on 2nd November 2023 in Leeds City Centre. Anthony and Dan put mind over matter as they walked barefoot across a bed of red-hot embers!

Our next fundraising initiative is running alongside Independence Mobility's 20th birthday celebrations which takes place at the of September. Each team member will be carrying out a challenge linked to the number 20, whether that be 20 days, 20 miles, 20 laps and so on.

Please help us to achieve our goal by donating anything that you can. Even a small amount helps to make a big difference to someone who turns to Leeds Mind for help.

Thank you!

The Independence Mobility and Medical Hire teams x