Jess and Olga are part of a swim team called Aquanimity. We are raising money for Shout, a charity that supports children and young peoples mental health. In July 2022 tragically Jessica lost her sister in law. Leaving behind 3 children and her nieces and nephew. Mental health is so important and shout offers 24/7 support for young people in the UK struggling to cope. Roxi, Jess's niece has been doing an amazing job fundraising for young mental health. This page is to continue to support this really important cause.

A little about our swim team......

Three working mums, two local business owners and a fireman have made a decision to swim the English Channel in a relay. All with varying degrees of fitness, we are building up throughout the year to achieve this.

Each of us has to swim for an hour at a time, we start in the dark, and there will be jellyfish. Some of us are more excited about this than others!

We all had different reasons for wanting to do this, will give you a flavour so you know more about our team.

Kirstie wants to prover to herself that she can be calm in the face of the enormity of the sea, having suffered with anxiety and PTSD that have exacerbated in perimenopause. Realising her love of the water hadn't been fulfilled due to a lifetime of anxiety, she knew it was time to act on it. The team name "Aquanimity" came from the word 'equanimity' and 'water', and so far it's stuck!

Jess loves the adrenaline of the huge challenge, and is slightly obsessed with jellyfish. Jess recruited her best buddy Olga, who drives from London to train with us in Bramley. Olga is a bit of a legend, in every way. Jess & Olga are the heart and soul of the group; self-confessed adventure junkies, that somehow manage to fit in regular swimming around parenting, demanding corporate jobs and a busy social life and adventure calendar!

John doesn't like to admit it, but this was his idea :) and he has already told everyone who commutes from Farncombe train station that he's doing it, and so now he absolutely can't back out! But actually, he probably secretly realises that he's not half bad, and he actually might make it across, but just to make sure he's ready, he's already cycled to Paris and is adding in a few triathalons to his already busy calendar running his coffee and catering businesses.

Kevin is basically a fish - most certainly the strongest swimmer and loves a butterfly stroke! He has done a lot of diving in the Channel - and has guaranteed us that there are no sharks ;) he runs a thriving deli business in Godalming, recently moved to a new location, and training gives him a refreshing break. Plus, we love our team meetings at the delectable 'After Darke' evenings.

Jason is a hard-working Dad, fireman, and a personal trainer; when he saw the recruitment message on the Longacre School Buy & Sell Group, he asked if it was beyond him, yet we think he's probably the fittest of us all! He came along for the ride because "life's too short to say no". Isn't it just!

We'd love you to follow us on Instagram @aquanimity2024 and support wherever you can.

Shout is the UK's only free, confidential and 24/7 text messaging service for anyone struggling to cope with their mental health. Every 60 seconds, someone reaches out for support and has a conversation that could save their life.

£10 can pay for a conversation with someone in crisis

£25 can fund a clinician to provide expert supervision of conversations on Shout's digital mental health platform.

£250 can train a new Shout Volunteer to take life-saving conversations.