Thank you for taking the time to visit my fundraising page.

You may know that I have been involved with a small mental health charity, Young Minds Matter (now called YMM) since 2017, before it officially became a charity. 

If you don't know exactly how that came to be, please read on. 

It's not something I talk about much any more, but when I was a teenager I struggled with clinical depression and self-harm. It took over all my teenage years and made school and family life a struggle. I kept it hidden from everyone for a number of years before I was found out. I didn't know what the procedure was, who would be told, and was horrified that the powers at be at school were informed immediately, followed by my parents. I went through various professionals, from therapists, counsellors, psychiatrists and eating disorder specialists. It wasn't exactly plain sailing! After many years, growing up, a stint on anti-depressants, and a LOT of willpower, I overcame my clinical depression as I started university. I am so happy to say that, although times sometimes still get tough (as they do for everyone), I am completely recovered and live a generally very happy and fulfilling life. 

When I was at school, I became very open about my struggles in an aim to raise awareness about mental health. I was so lucky to have some amazing staff at school who supported me including my school chaplain Dr J - not sure what I would have done without him. I was also a keen musician, and the lovely lady who was the music school receptionist would always say to me 'one day, Eliza, I want to organise a big concert and raise lots of money for young people's mental health'. I thought 'yeah, that sounds nice, but I bet it will never happen'. 

But I was wrong, because that lady was the inimitable Sue Roberts. In October 2017, two years after I left school, she put on a concert in Warwick Hall, with performances from local young musicians, and a keynote speech by me. She raised £37,000 for local mental health charities. The name of the concert was Young Minds Matter.

She held a second concert in October 2019, and in 2020, Sue and I decided to make YMM into it's own charity, putting on concerts and events with young people, and using the proceeds to fund free mental health mentoring in local state schools who couldn't otherwise afford it.

In 2020 it was just the two of us. Covid had hit, zoom calls were a plenty, and we had no idea what to do. Over the next couple of years, we built YMM into a functioning charity, with a lot of help along the way! A teacher by trade, I learnt how to be HR, website designer, social media manager, graphic designer, payroll, and more as we committed to making something out of YMM. Sue has devoted literally her entire life to this charity, building it from the ground up, and is one of the most inspirational women I know. 

Five years later, we now have an incredible team of 11 volunteering as trustees, advisors, in operations and in safeguarding. We have 17 trained mentors working in 13 schools across Coventry and Warwickshire. We are growing and helping more and more young people every single day. I am so unbelievably proud of how far we have come, and am so excited for the future for YMM. Here are some testimonials from schools so you can read for yourself the impact we are having.

So this is where the marathon comes in. I have long wanted to do a big fundraising event for YMM in a way that was a challenge for me. I find running really hard. I like it and I like the feeling of fulfilment you get from finishing a run, but I do find it hard. The training, mental commitment, fundraising, and the run itself will all be a challenge to me, but it's worth it to try and raise as much as I can for the charity that I have given so much to, but has also given so much back to me. We've had people running for YMM in the London Landmarks Half Marathon for the past three years, and the London Marathon for the past two. I've always been organising and supporting from the sidelines but now it's my turn!

So many of my wonderful friends and loved ones have run the London Landmarks Half Marathon for YMM and I am so inspired by them and grateful to them for doing so. So, to Imo, Camilla, Tess, George W, George F, Joe, Vee, Harry, Amy, Felix, Liv, and Silky, thank you for going before me and inspiring me! 

You may know that some areas of my life have been particularly challenging over the last 3.5 years, and I have been so proud of myself for staying strong and resilient and not allowing it to take me back to the spirals of depression that I used to experience, despite it being incredibly hard at times. I am finally on the other side of this period and I am lucky to have had the support when I was younger to learn how to manage my emotions, be able to lean on my friends when appropriate and my therapist when needed. Not everyone is so lucky to have the support that I have had and I am privileged to raise money for YMM who can help more people turn out like me.

If you feel able to, I'd appreciate any donations no matter how big or small! I'll also be running some fundraising events over the next 8 months, so if you'd prefer to donate when there is an event for you to get something out of too then please keep an eye out on my social media for those!

Please follow @ymmorguk on instagram, or head to our website to learn more about the charity and what we do: www.ymm.org.uk

I'd love to chat more about YMM with you if you'd like - don't hesitate to get in touch with me personally.

Thank you so much for reading and for your support! And if you'd like to come and watch please do and I will add you to my supporters WhatsApp group!

Eliza x