In June 2023 we suddenly lost an incredible colleague and friend. A highly qualified counsellor and mental health first-aid trainer, Michelle Head touched the lives of hundreds of students and clients over the course of her career. She was honestly the nicest lady. A kind and compassionate colleague with a wonderful smile and a wicked sense of humour. She was hilarious and kind, putting students at ease within minutes of meeting them. There is now a huge hole in our University community. If every one of the people she touched lit a candle in her name, I am sure that we would have a runway of light stretching out before us.

And that’s what we wanted to do: to light a candle for Michelle, and to give others the opportunity to do something to pay tribute to this incredible lady. So, we are fundraising for Samaritans - a fantastic mental health charity that Michelle personally supported. Michelle was passionate about enabling our students to access the mental health support and self-care tools they need to thrive on campus and beyond. By donating to this page you will help light a new candle and help Michelle to keep helping others.

Alongside making a big difference to an amazing cause, your donation will further motivate us as we attempt to various run/active challenges in 2024. The UK weather has not been kind to those training in the winter months, but we are all excited that we can do something real to pay tribute to our much missed colleague.

Thank you so much for your donation. If you would like to use the comments box to share Michelle stories and tributes please do feel free to do so. We look forward to celebrating Michelle's life and achievements with you.

About Team ARU

Staff from Anglia Ruskin University are undertaking various running / active challenges to raise funds in Michelle's name, including:

LONDON WINTER 10K (25th Feb 2024)

Jodie Elwis, Employability & Careers Service

CHELMSFORD 10K AND HALF MARATHON (3rd March 2024)

Libby Homer, Director of Student & Library Services

Jennifer Hebenton, Counselling & Wellbeing Service

Tammi Carstairs, Employability & Careers Service

Khrieu Healy, Employability & Careers Service

CAMBRIDGE HALF MARATHON (3rd March 2024)

Jodie Elwis, Employability & Careers Service

ROME MARATHON (17th March 2024)

Viktoriya Vladimirova, Employability & Careers Service

Khrieu Healy, Employability & Careers Service

Rosie Youngs - Rosie is not an ARU staff member but has kindly agreed to run with Khrieu to make the marathon more safe/accessible to her.

The Big Half (1st Sept 2024)

GREAT NORTH RUN (8th Sept 2024)

Libby Homer, Director of Student & Library Services

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your you money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.