36 PADDLE THE RIVER MERSEY TO MARK THE END OF MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK RAISING AN ‘OARSOME’ £7,000
A Stockport to Sale charity canoe challenge was successfully completed on Saturday 14th May to raise awareness of mental health and essential funds for Beacon Counselling, a mental health charity in Stockport that provides therapy and wellbeing services to adults, children and young people.
Six rafted canoes full of 36 willing volunteers paddled from Stockport to Sale, in what was a 10-mile trip that brought them through the Merseyway tunnel and over numerous thrilling weirs.
Setting sail from Lower Reddish Country Park, the teams braved the wet and frequent splashes through Burnage and Didsbury, stopping off at Northenden and arriving in Sale for a well-deserved pint.
Joanne Watson at Beacon said “Beacon is here for anyone suffering with emotional distress. Our essential counselling services wouldn’t exist without the kind donations we receive from donors and so our annual spring challenge is an opportunity to spread awareness of the need of our work through Mental Health Awareness Week and raise essential funds that support our daily costs. The teams did an excellent job – it was a challenging activity that required fabulous teamwork and all the groups pulled this off very well, considering most of us were first-timers! We look forward to 2023’s Spring challenge which will once again welcome willing participants and businesses to register. “
Kelly Foterhingham at Nexperia said “This is our 2nd year of supporting Beacon Counselling and it is always a pleasure to contribute towards fundraising for the important work they do, and the positive impact they have, within our local community. By collaborating with Beacon this also gives our employees the opportunity to help a local charity which impacts so many, and also helps us to raise awareness on such important social issues. It was great to see such level of teamwork by all the participants who got stuck in and performed brilliantly on the day.”
Cllr Lisa Smart said “This was such a great opportunity to see Stockport from a different angle, all while raising much needed funds for a wonderful cause. Our team really enjoyed travelling underneath the Merseyway Shopping Centre, seeing Weir Mill from below and getting up close with some of Stockport’s newly hatched wildlife. Our arms were certainly stiff after we had finished paddling the 10 mile route but we were delighted to be part of the efforts to promote the vital work of Beacon Counselling.”
If you have questions about counselling or would like to book an appointment to talk to someone, you can contact Beacon at 0161 440 0055 or at [email protected]
