Wirral Co-op Academies Unite To Raise Over £1500 for Local Mental Health Charity
Teachers and support staff Co-op Academy Hillside, Co-op Academy Woodslee and Co-op Academy Portland joined forces for a non-stop spinathon on Saturday 8th February. Together, they cycled for 1474 miles - the same distance as cycling to Naples!
The £1500 raised will go to local charity Wirral Mind. The spinathon was billed as a ‘ride and rant’ - creating a space for positive conversations about mental health.
The event was part of the schools' Time To Talk Day celebrations. Time to Talk Day is the nations’ biggest mental health conversation. Staff from the three schools were keen to pool their resources to do something special.
Hillside’s Academy Community Pioneer Brady Clayton and the team enlisted the help of Sammie Dalton, Manager at Active Wirral Bidston Sports and Activities Centre, who kindly allowed the use of their facilities. Brady also coordinated the fundraising campaign across the schools.
School pupils had the opportunity to be involved too, with some children from Years 4, 5 and 6 at Hillside contributing the 1474 mile total during the school day on Friday 7 February.
Our three schools often work closely together and are all overseen by Executive Headteacher Katy Bergman, who could be seen instructing her colleagues in spinning routines throughout the day. We are also united by their Ways of Being Co-op and by our commitment to making a difference in their communities. This includes innovative practices such as appointing an Academy Community Pioneer like Brady in each school.
"I am so proud of all the staff who came together to be involved in such a memorable day. We cycled, chatted, and laughed for 6 hours. Wirral Mind is an amazing charity who do some fantastic work and to be able to support them was an honour. I can't wait to get stuck into the next community event"
1 in 4 people are estimated to experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England. The schools involved are proud to support Wirral Mind and the support programmes they have available for when people need them.
