The Shell Foundation team is raising money for the Sam West Foundation. Our goal is to each £20,000.

Sam, the son of our ex-Director, tragically took his own life in January 2018, just a few weeks before his 16th birthday. Sam was a popular boy with a particular talent for art and music, but he had been diagnosed with clinical depression which ultimately he was unable to live with.

The Sam West Foundation was set up by his family, Chris, Michelle, Ben & Tom and registered as a UK charity (#1177924) in April 2018. Its objective is to support children, young adults and their families affected by mental health issues. 10% of children under 16 years old in the UK have a clinically diagnosable mental health issue, of whom 70% do not receive interventions at a sufficiently early age.

The first two activities to be supported by the Foundation will therefore include training a cadre of Mental Health first aiders (comprising teachers, doctors, school-children and parents) to help identify children at risk, and enabling the provision of appropriate counselling services for children in primary schools. The initial focus will be on children in schools in Mid Kent, with plans to scale-up subject to lessons learned during the first year.

Please join us in supporting the Sam West Foundation in its vital work. Thank You!

See below for what we are doing.