On 13th September, I will be cycling from London to Brighton. That's 55 miles of ups and downs - roughly the lifespan of an elephant, in aid of The Purple Elephant Project (PEP), the charity I'm proud to work for as Head of Partnerships.

I haven't done any fundraising or been on a road bike since 2018! Life has got in the way and I am genuinely daunted by the fact that I only have 6 weeks to go before the race and I have yet to start training! But this challenge matters too much not to do it.

WHY THIS CAUSE?

People don’t always realise that a child's mental health doesn't just effect them, but their family, school life and friendships. It's isolating and it reshapes every decision, every plan, every ordinary day. And getting the right support in place is its own exhausting fight - long waits, therapists changing partway through care, and a disjointed handover from child to adult services, right when continuity is needed most.

Since working for PEP, I have came to learn that children who experience early trauma and serious medical experiences often need a safe space to process what's happened to them, long before things reach crisis point. There was nothing like The Purple Elephant Project available to us when we experienced mental health challenges within our own family; I wish there had been. I believe support at the right time, and a service that doesn’t leave a family to navigate it all alone, could have changed the shape of those five years for us.

WHY NOW & WHY PEP?

This is exactly the gap PEP exists to fill. Half of all lifetime mental health conditions are established by age 14, which makes childhood the critical window for support, not adulthood, once things have already become entrenched. Yet children referred for specialist NHS support can wait months, sometimes years, and many never meet the threshold for help at all. Delayed support doesn't just disappear, it shows up later as school disengagement, isolation, strained family relationships, and in the most serious cases, self-harm, eating disorders and suicide attempts.

PEP is all about supporting children in their early years. Using creative art and play therapy, children receive long-term, one-to-one support with a trusted therapist and a space where they don't need the words - because so many children can't yet find them, especially those who have a disability, are neurodiverse or have English as a second language. And crucially, PEP doesn't just work with the child; it works with parents and schools too, building the wider safety net that we could genuinely have used.

PLEASE SUPPORT ME

I'm asking for you to sponsor me because I've experienced first what happens when a child's mental health is left to fight for itself and seen the incredible impact of the work PEP does and what's possible when children get the timely support they need.

Pleas dig deep so every child referred to us can receive the support they need, when they need it most, whatever their financial situation. Support to help them build confidence and develop the coping skills and resilience needed to thrive and reach their full potential.

Every child deserves to be heard!

And one last thing! Don’t forget - if you're able to add Gift Aid, it costs you nothing and adds 25% to your gift at no extra cost.

Thank you so much for your support

Nina x