|
 In memory is personal way of remembering a loved one. You may wish to remember a birthday, anniversary or just comemorate someone close to you by taking part in your own special fundraising event.
There are plenty of different events that you will find in this part of the site, whether it's an overseas trek, something closer to home, or perhaps you want to find your own unique way of remembering a loved one. Whatever you want to do the Mind Events Team will support you all the way.
"Knowing Jimmi he'll be watching me on the day in fits of laughter just hoping I trip up!" Janet Lawrence, Mind Marathon entrant.
"We chose to raise funds for Mind because Jimmi made donations after being approached by a street fundraiser a while back." Brian Lawrence
Last year Marathon runners raised nearly £170,000 for Mind. Mind aims to beat this figure next year with the help and commitment of people like Janet and Brian Lawrence whose 26-year-old son Jimmi died in 2004.
Janet said "I used running to make me feel better in the dark days following Jimmi's death. It seemed appropriate to raise money for the charity at the same time."
James Lawrence was the guitarist for Hope of the States, he was found hanged at The Real World studios in January 2004.
The Chichester six-piece, who signed to Sony imprint Seeker were due to release their debut album in late spring after months spent recording in Russia and Ireland.
If you have a story you'd like to tell us about, then please contact us and we will publish your story on this page.
Mike Barlow ran the London marathon in memory of his sister, Emma, who took her life in January 2002 aged 31. She had battled with mental illness for several years. She left behind two beautiful children who are now seven and five and are being adopted by relatives.
Mike said: "I am running the London Marathon to raise money in her memory for Mind. Mental illness is not a subject that many people want to talk about. However, having experienced it at first hand with Emma I know how much good work Mind does, much of it unseen, to help others in similar situations.
I know that Emma would be pleased that I am doing this. She always gave me a hard time for eating and drinking too much. I have now managed to lose a stone and don't have much time for beer.
Having not done any running for 17 years I started training in June 2004. Then I could only manage 20 minutes on the flat before collapsing. However, I made my racing debut in the Bristol Half Bristol Marathon in September and managed to complete it in a fairly respectable time. I took some encouragement from this but the thought of 26 miles still filled me with dread."
In March 2005, Mike was chosen by Mind to talk to a magazine about his story. Best Magazine featured Mike's story in the form of an open letter to the loved one they are running for.
I have been asked to write a bit about Linden in the hope that it will show how important the football event is and to give you some insight into how we can all help Mind to help others.
I would describe Linden as "fun". He had a tremendous sense of humour and was more than capable of "taking it" as well as dishing it out. He was a generous guy who was always ready to offer a helping hand to anyone but especially to his family and friends. He was also a keen footballer and fan playing for Jam Jar FC and hence the decision to use football as a way to raise money for charity.
What some of you will not have known was that he suffered from severe depression but, like so many others, managed to successfully hide it even from those close to him. Depression, although recognised by the medical profession, still carries with it a certain stigma forcing people to hide it away from those that might be best situated to help them. Some figures even go as far as to say that one in three males between the ages of 25 and 35 suffer from some sort of depression with many of them not even knowing that they have it.
One of Linden's loves was children. He would find time for even the most annoying child and so you can imagine his joy when his daughter, Evie Rose, arrived into the world. You can also see however just how powerful depression can be. Even having Evie could not overpower the depressive feelings he had with him finally paying the ultimate price leaving his family deprived of a son, a brother and a father and his friends of a true "buddy".
Mind helps people like Linden and we want to help them. In these days of large charity events and disaster linked funds it is easy to miss the smaller charities that do just as big a job in helping people, but do not benefit from the same media coverage. Help us to help them by supporting Pob's Trophy and raising much needed cash.
To find out more visit www.pobstrophy.co.uk
Please contact the Mind Events Team to request an information pack by emailing events@mind.org.uk or by calling 0844 4484452.
One in four of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives. Each year more than 250,000 people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals and over 4,000 people take their own lives.
|