Newton Aycliffe Sports Club FC has decided to raise funds for a local charity by participating in “Mowvember”. The charity we have chosen is Man Health, a local charity supporting men with mental health issues (https://www.manhealth.org.uk/)
As we all know, Mental Health is something that is getting a lot of focus at the moment and rightly so. Our culture is definitely getting better around men talking openly about their mental health, but we still have a long way to go.
Man Health is a Community Interest Company who provide support to men through a range of methods including training and peer support. They support men experiencing mental health issues through our peer support groups which are all ran by male facilitators who have a lived experience.
You may or may not know that working aged men (25-54 years old) account for the largest number of suicide deaths in the UK. Suicide is the biggest killer of men aged 50 or under.
In our town alone (Newton Aycliffe) we have seen a number of young men take their own lives in the past few years and we, as a (fairly) young group of males, feel the need to support our local people and any charities that can help are greatly appreciated.
The idea was put to us by Team Captain Will Kelly (his before and after pictures within the article) and as a result a number of players and the management team have committed to take part in Mowvember and we are looking for the community to help support us with as much or as little as you can.
Our aim is to raise £500 for this worthy cause. Our players journey (before and after) will be documented on social media. We would like to thank Emres Barbers who kindly offered to shave the more bearded ones amongst us for the start of this event.
If you would like to help please make a donation, via our just giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/aycliffesportsclubmovember?utm_term=bm5WJPx9R – any amount would be greatly appreciated. We are also selling Football cards on our Facebook page (find us under Newton Aycliffe Sports Club FC or Paul Eales FB Page).
If we can stop one more person from taking their own life or suffering greatly from this issue, by raising awareness and encouraging support via this charity or any other, then that in itself would be amazing.
Photo: Team Captain, Will Kelly before and after
