Two local children lace up their trainers to run 35km for charity during Mental Health Awareness Week

A Lincolnshire family have found a creative and compassionate way to pass the time during week nine of lockdown by running 35k for Mental Health Awareness Week.

Rosalind (aged 6) and Emmeline (aged 4) alongside their parents, Jaime and Claire Tunstall, are fundraising for local mental health services for children and young people by running 5k a day for seven days.

This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 18-24 May, centred around the power and potential of kindness. It is more important than ever that we are kind to one another, and that we understand the impact and importance of maintaining good mental health and wellbeing.

With mental health awareness in mind, the family chose to fundraise for Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s (LPFT) mental health services for children and young people. The money will be donated through the Trust’s charity, which enhances services and facilities not otherwise funded by the NHS.

Whilst discussing his children’s 5k a day challenge, Jaime said:

“Mental health is very close to our hearts, and when we heard that Mental Health Awareness Week was coming up, we all decided we would like to fundraise locally.

Both myself and Claire have been furloughed and we’re trying our best with home schooling and creating routines, but it is tough. Lockdown has been a hard challenge for everyone; our girls are desperate to go to school and see their friends.

In the past I have completed marathons to fundraise for charities, so as a family we decided that was something we could all set our minds to. A friend pointed us in the direction of LPFT’s charity and we set up our fundraising page.

The girls have done their first day today (Monday 18 May) and it’s provided a great focus and challenge for them. They’re excited to complete their full 35km and we’ll see how much money we can raise to support our local NHS.”

Philip Jackson, LPFT’s Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Trust’s charity committee said:

“It’s fantastic to see families coming together to support their local mental health and learning disabilities services during these unprecedented and difficult times.

Mental Health Awareness Week is a national campaign that we whole-heartedly support, and with this year’s theme being kindness, the impact of this generosity is more prevalent than ever.

We would like to thank the Tunstall family, and we hope that Rosalind and Emmeline taking on their challenge will bring a smile to many people’s faces during this difficult time.”

The Tunstall family’s fundraiser can be found on Virgin Money Giving here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/JaimeTunstall