Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I’ll be conquering (or at least facing) a fear of heights for a wonderful cause, The Lord Mayor’s Appeal (‘A Better City For All’) which supports three wonderful charities, MQ Mental Health Research - Homewards and National Numeracy (further details below):

Where does the money go?

MQ Mental Health Research is the only UK charity that exclusively invests in mental health research. MQ works to create a world where mental illness is understood, effectively treated, and ultimately prevented. The Lord Mayor’s Appeal partnership with MQ is enabling several new research programmes from the mental health impact of the cost-of-living crisis to the use of virtual reality in mental health therapies. In partnership with Oxford University, and the Wellcome Trust, The Lord Mayor’s Appeal funds to MQ are supporting GALENOS, that aims to deliver ground breaking understanding of the mechanisms involved in mental illness with hopes of speeding up global mental health research by two to three years. Coupled with specific scientific research projects on suicide, anxiety, and depression, MQ’s work will inform policy and practice, ensuring the UK and the City are ready to support the most vulnerable in society.

Earlier this year, Prince William and The Royal Foundation launched Homewards; a transformative five-year programme that aims to demonstrate that together, it’s possible to end homelessness – making it rare, brief and unrepeated. Homewards will initially work in partnership with six flagship locations across the United Kingdom, supporting them to form locally led coalitions, and providing them with the space, tools and expertise to show how this can be done. By demonstrating that homelessness is not inevitable, and is in fact a solvable issue, Homewards will kickstart an inspiring movement in the UK, and further afield, to end homelessness for good. The Lord Mayor’s Appeal will support this work through funds, collaboration and connections.

Londoners are feeling the full force of the UK’s hidden numeracy crisis. Basic number skills and confidence provide a gateway to financial inclusion, wellbeing and employment prospects. Yet, poor numeracy, exacerbated by the pandemic, is limiting the life chances of half the nation’s working-age population. This is being felt most acutely in London, where 3.5 million adults (58%) are estimated to have low numeracy skills. This partnership with The Lord Mayor’s Appeal is funding an initiative - Every Londoner Counts - which is helping to improve employability and financial inclusion by supporting thousands of Londoners in greatest need to build confidence, skills and positive attitudes to basic numeracy through a network of 500 newly trained Numeracy Champions.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! 🧗‍♂️