Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. 

My name is Tom and I am completing a 6 day walk up Kilimanjaro, the worlds tallest free standing mountain, aiming to raise £3380 for Mind.

When I am not at Bangor university studying psychology, I am a part-time Healthcare Assistant and have witnessed first hand how promoting healthy and positive mental health behaviour is just as important as physical health. Unfortunately the statistics surrounding mental health in the UK are pretty bleak:

•  40% of GP appointments involve mental health with 66% reporting a significant increase in patients needing help with their mental health in the last12 months.
• Approximately every two hours in England and Wales, someone takes their own life.
• Suicide is the leading cause of death for 20- 34 year olds and the biggest killer of men under 50.
• 1 in 8 children and young people experience at least 1 mental health problem in any given week.
• It is estimated that 1/6 adults in England (16%) were prescribed antidepressants in 2016/2017.

Those of you who know me, know I have suffered from Type 1 Diabetes for more than half my life. This lifelong condition has affected my lifestyle and when I was first diagnosed I struggled to cope with the changes that were needed in order to live a healthy life as a diabetic. I didn't like having to live differently because of something I couldn't control and for a while I wasn't in a good headspace. Thanks to a good group of friends and family however, I have learnt to deal with my diabetes and not let it control my life. The support I had is not always available to everyone and its charities such as Mind that can help provide this much needed support network to those who need it most. 

How your donations help:

• £10 helps Mind to send essential information booklets about mental health to 48 people
• £40 could pay for 28 people to campaign for change on behalf of Mind
• £70 can keep Minds online community, Elifriends, open and safe for two hours
• £120 could offer a lifeline to eight people in desperate need of support from Minds legal line
• £200 could help keep the Mind Infoline open for 1 hour, helping 35 people
• £300 could support a young person bereaved by suicide to access 1:1 an group support
• £500 could provide five people struggling with their mental health a place in a 10-week wellbeing group with team sports and cookery.  

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story and for contributing to such a worthwhile charity. If you would like to know any other information about Mind follow the link below which will take you to the Mind Website (https://www.mind.org.uk/). 

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 money directly to the charity. It's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.