This Mental Health Awareness Week (13th – 19th May), the team at The Driftwood Spars in St Agnes are reflecting on yet another successful year of community fundraising, which resulted in substantial donations to three local mental health organisations.
As Landlady Louise Treseder explains: “Every year our team comes together to brainstorm ideas and nominate organisations that resonate with us personally. After discussion, we cast our votes to select the charity that will benefit. At the start of 2023 there was wide agreement that mental health should be the focus of our fundraising efforts.”
With all 2023 events reviewed, cash counted, and end-of-year beer sales signed off, Louise and her team are pleased to announce donations of £2,500 to Georgia’s Voice, £2,500 to Man Down, and £1,000 to True Butterflies Foundation.
The total of £6,000 represents a huge effort from the pub team and their regular customers, who organise and attend quiz nights, raffles, barbecues, and an unwanted Christmas gift exchange; on top of this, 10p from every pint of Spars beer sold goes into the fundraising pot.
Louise says: “The pervasiveness of poor mental health affects so many aspects of life, interconnecting with issues like local housing, food and fuel poverty, and rural isolation. As a hub for the community – where people feel they can come and connect with others – we’re helping by raising awareness, nurturing a sense of belonging, and funding our fantastic grassroots organisations to do their amazing work.”
- Man Down is a Cornwall-based non-profit which provides peer-support talking groups all over the region for men with mental health concerns, with the aim of ending the stigma and reducing the number of male suicides.
- Similarly, Georgia’s Voice aims to prevent suicides in young women aged 18 – 24 with a network of local support groups; the charity is currently fundraising to create a wellbeing hub for young women living in Cornwall.
- True Butterflies Foundation supports individuals and families affected by domestic abuse, providing survivors with mental health support and resources to rebuild their lives and move forward.
The theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is ‘Movement: Moving more for our mental health.’
Louise says: “At The Driftwood we initiated a monthly Menopause Support Group which now meets in Chacewater Village Hall every month. The support group will look at movement for mental health during the menopause amongst other things. We also have regular staff and customer sea swims, which is a lovely way to bring people together and gives us all a mental health boost.”
2024 fundraising is already underway of course, and the next recipients will be Transformation Food Bank, an organisation dedicated to providing vital support to individuals and families facing food insecurity.
Anna Corbett, Chief Executive at Transformation Food Bank, says: “Being able to feed yourself and your family is so important as being hungry and going without food affects everyone’s physical and mental health. We really are so fortunate to have the support of the Driftwood Spars, and are immensely grateful to Louise, her staff and all their customers for all their hard work on our behalf.”
For more information about The Driftwood Spars, visit driftwoodspars.co.uk.
