Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I am raising money for Mind because I have recently begun to understand the prevalence of mental health issues in our communities and the importance of communicating about and destigmatising mental illness.

From personal experience (http://son966.wix.com/unknownbeauty), I know that people with mental health problems may attempt to self-medicate with alcohol, which is worse than counter-productive. Through my 'A Year of No Beer' challenge, I hope to raise awareness of mental health issues, encourage people to discuss mental illness more openly, raise money for a charity that supports those suffering from mental illness, and do something constructive in the name of a friend who left this world too soon. I will be drinking no alcohol between July 8th 2015 and July 19th 2016 (when I may have a glass of fizz to mark my 19th wedding anniversary.

I know that for many of my friends, a year without booze is no hardship. Those same friends will know that the same may not be true for me. Running ultra-marathons is (relatively) easy for me; not drinking wine may be (relatively) easy for you. We all have our own challenges. All I ask is that if you think my cause is worthy, and you think my sacrifice is in any way significant, that you make a small donation. I have hundreds of Facebook friends, Twitter and Instagram followers and LinkedIn connections. Just £1 from each of you would make a vast difference to the work that Mind do, and make a great difference to me personally. So please do give generously.

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.