Mental health is a massive issue which gathers far less attention than it requires. Most of us will be affected by mental health, either directly or indirectly, in some way during our life time, I assure you. Anybody can suffer from depression, and mental health isn't an issue to be ignored. It's a serious problem that affects innocent people's lives day after day.

It is so important that awareness is raised, the issue is taken seriously, and people feel they have somebody to turn to and talk to when in need. This is what Mind work towards. Providing anybody affected by mental health issues with somewhere to turn to when they feel lost.

I had expected to already have done this, but when we wasted an entire day as we weren't allowed to jump due to weather conditions, I wanted to make up for the lost time by using the lengthened wait for the real thing by raising some money. I knew I wanted to help a charity which was making a real difference in mental health issues. With Stephen Fry as the president of the charity, and also a director at my football club (NCFC), it was the perfect charity to support!

The other week I attempted a basic rock climbing wall at my university's gym centre. Looking down from the top, all 30 feet of heightness suddenly appeared quite daunting. So I thought if I find myself on edge about a small drop like this one - the logical thing, of course, is to jump 14,500 feet out of the sky. Should be interesting...

I don't expect to raise much, especially with less than two weeks until we are planning to jump, but just being able to provide some form of help - especially after the dissapointment of the original skydive cancellation - would mean a lot. So please give whatever you can, any donations are greatly appreciated. Thankyou so much :)

Carpe Diem,

Shaun.