Written by Challengers CEO Gen Dearman, Monday 21st October 2024
Over the weekend, we were so pleased to be part of a very special orange parkrun event marking Orange October – a month celebrating all things Challengers to raise money and awareness of how we transform the lives of disabled children, young people and their families. Thankfully the wet weather didn’t dampen the mood at all!
As a keen runner myself, I know first-hand how beneficial running can be for your mental health. Parkrun’s heritage is based on supporting mental health, by providing people with a free and welcoming space to run, jog or walk at their own pace among a supportive community. This resonates with me as an individual, but also with the vital work we do at Challengers – creating safe, supportive and inclusive spaces for disabled children and their families. We see first hand the effects on a family’s resilience and mental health when they don’t get the vital respite they need – and the positive effect when they do.
Attending Challengers gives disabled young people an opportunity to come together to have fun, make friends and try new things which is hugely beneficial for their mental health, but it also positively supports their parent carers’ mental health by giving them respite and a chance to relax and recharge. In our latest parent carer survey, 88% of parents said that Challengers has a positive impact on their child’s mental health, and 94% agreed that access to Challengers benefits their own mental health and wellbeing.
We were also honoured to be joined by Andy Baines-Vosper from Samaritans, who is on a mission to have a million conversations around mental health and ask others to help share the load – in his case a 24.7kg sandbag which he runs with to represent the invisible (but often far heavier) emotional weight we all carry on our shoulders. It was brilliant to see members of the community sharing the heavy load and having open conversations about mental health.
Partnership is really important to us as a charity, and our collaboration with Guildford parkrun is a perfect example of how organisations can come together to create meaningful impact. We’re proud to support parkrun by hosting their kit at our Guildford base each week, and it’s important to give back to an amazing community initiative which does so much to promote physical and mental wellbeing.
Thank you to the Guildford parkrun for inviting us to turn Stoke Park orange for the day, and thanks to everyone who joined us. Together, we not only raised awareness of Challengers, but also about inclusivity, community and mental health.
