I am  raising funds to help the Mental Health Foundation continue to make a difference.

I am doing this with my husband mike grant my best friend sue Ryan and her sister gill

We all grew up in Neston on the Wirral and went to school together at Neston Comp.

In October 2020, we’ll be spending 9 days in Tanzania. During this time we will be climbing the biggest free standing mountain in Africa, Kilimanjaro. At 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) above sea level this will be a huge challenge for us, both mentally and physically. We'll not only be coping with the cold and hostile environment of the mountain but also trying to avoid going down with altitude sickness. Together, the four of us will summit on 10 October 2020, which is World Mental Health Day.

We are passionate about this cause, with both Gill and Sue having suffered with their mental health in the past and with all of us knowing friends and other family who have and continue to struggle. We want to help with the prevention of mental health problems and for our children and grandchildren not to face these issues or if they do, to know that there is help out there.

Sue and I lost our longtime best friend, Jane, completely unexpectedly this summer and it has taken every ounce of our resilience to keep going after this devastating loss.

Ellie, sues daughter, is an assistant clinical psychologist working in the NHS with adolescents but as everyone knows, mental health is massively underfunded in the NHS and therefore we rely on charities such as the Mental Health Foundation to provide additional support.

The Mental Health Foundation is 70 years old this year - but as it reflects on its achievements over the past 70 years, one thing is clear - its work is not yet done. We know that 50% of mental health problems are established before the age of 14 and that suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 50 in the UK.

Please help us to raise these much needed funds to enable the Mental Health Foundation to continue to educate and prevent increases in mental health problems and to provide support to those struggling.

Thank you so much for your generous donations.

, Kath and Mike  gill and sue