We were delighted and amazed to raise the staggering amount of £1000 (as well as £1000 for Romsey Abbey) from the marathon sponsorship. It means we can now give the go ahead for another print run of our well-received booklet ‘Your Guide to a Mentally Healthy Workplace.’ All 5,000 booklets from the February 2013 print run have been distributed – and that’s before the team deliver copies to every business in Romsey.
Rev Tim Sledge and Bridget Brook, Trustees of Triangulate, attended the recent General Synod in York to give a presentation on the work of Triangulate within our local community and church. Delegates to the lunchtime meeting were given copies of our booklet and we have since supplied Leicester Cathedral with 650 booklets to have available for visitors.
David Hewett took part in the Blenheim Triathlon in June and raised £850 for Triangulate funds – thank you so much, David. Some of this money was put towards buying new display boards for our information board in the Abbey. The rest will go towards the second print run of our booklet.
Exercising is GOOD for mind and spirit! And to prove that a team from Romsey Abbey are taking part in the first Romsey Marathon on Sunday May 12th with all funds being shared between Romsey Abbey and Triangulate, the local charity raising awareness of mental health issues in the workplace for employers and individuals.
The Romsey Marathon, organised by the Rotary Club and sponsored by Bradbeers, has been set up to build on the 2012 Olympic legacy and to support local charities, many of which are finding it difficult to raise sufficient funds.
The team of ten will each run 2 consecutive laps of 1.3 miles before handing the baton on to the next team member.
If you are able to support us we’d be very grateful. You can donate online by visiting www.justgiving.com/triangulate. You can also donate by phoning the Parish Office on 01794 513125.
Members of the team trying on their t-shirts
Our Mental Health Awareness weekend at Romsey Abbey (www.romseyabbey.org.uk) started with a one woman comedy show, tackling some of the life issues we face and exploring the way in which we handle our self-esteem. Performed by Eva McIntyre, the audience from both the Abbey and other local churches delighted in seeing the five characters, and God, develop. Eva, who is a writer, actor and priest, has, since 2011, taken on a national brief on mental health for the Church of England and has been involved in developing resources for churches to use on the subject – www.mentalhealthmatters-cofe.org. Eva then preached at our 5th Annual Mental Health Sunday the next morning at 10am. This sermon was recorded and is available to listen to again by downloading from the Abbey website. Also at the service were representatives from Mindful Employer, Southern Health and italk, our local talking therapies service. Rev Tim Sledge was able to announce a new venture in partnership with Southern Health and Café Nero. Starting at the beginning of March, every Monday afternoon between 3 and 5pm, anyone will be welcome to take some time out of the stress and strains of everyday life to relax and unwind.
On Thursday 7th February Triangulate launched an information booklet to help workplaces remain mentally healthy environments. Held in the Town Hall and in the presence of the Mayor of Test Valley, Cllr Dorothy Baverstock, the Mayor of Romsey, Cllr Mark Cooper, local employers and managers everyone heard about the development of this resource. The booklet has been produced to signpost information from a range of national charities and company sources. Bridget Brook, Trustee of Triangulate, says ‘so often we hear from managers that they don’t know where to turn when someone in their workplace is struggling with stress and anxiety. There is lots of information available but if you haven’t had to deal with this before then knowing where to go is not so easy. We’ve put links to all the main sources of information in one place so anyone can see there is help available.’ Ian Cox, of OKW Enclosures Ltd and also a Trustee says ‘we’ve been delighted with early feedback from some of the national charities who have been supportive of the concept of our booklet. And now that it’s ready they are delighted to see the information brought together in one resource which will be free to anyone who would like a copy’. Copies can be ordered from info@triangulate.org.uk (free with a post and packing charge). The pdf is also available for anyone to put on their websites – either to download from www.triangulate.org.uk or by email as above. Ian Cox and Bridget Brook then spoke at the February meeting of the combined Chamber of Commerce and Retailers’ Forum meeting and look forward to future meetings.
We are delighted to hear that we raised £967.84 from the sale of raffle tickets in the national charity raffle especially for small charities (run by the FSI). That means 526 tickets were bought by people supporting Triangulate – thank you so much! Unfortunately, the winning ticket for the car wasn’t one of the tickets we sold!
Triangulate, the Romsey-based charity working with employers to raise awareness of mental health issues in the workplace, has benefited from training specifically provided for small charities. Organised and delivered by the Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI) a two day roadshow was recently held at the Ark Conference Centre in Basingstoke. Pauline Broomhead, CEO of the FSI, started the days with an inspirational introduction on the difference small charities make in so many areas of our everyday life.
Triangulate trustee, Bridget Brook, attended a one day workshop aimed at helping charities measure the impact of the work they do and was delighted with the quality of the training which was provided free. She comments ‘we are often asked how we know if we’ve made a difference and this training gave us a range of techniques which we’ll be able to use into the future to ensure we continue to focus on what’s important for employers and individuals in Romsey. In addition, Triangulate have been able to sign up to a fund-raising raffle which will be publicised around the town and which will provide much-needed funds to continue our work in the town.’
Bridget Brook, Triangulate; Pauline Broomhead, CEO FSI; and Nikki Tapley, Communicare in Southampton
A hardy group of 11 climbers, 3 of whom herald from Romsey, completed the Three Peaks challenge recently. Scaling Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon – the three highest peaks in the UK – in a total time of 23 hours and 25 minutes, the team were raising money for their special charities. The challenge was organised by former Romsey man Paul Hewett, with a support team of his dad, Dick Hewett and Rob Gower, both formerly of Ordnance Survey.
Two of the climbers, Dave Hewett and Matt Brook, continued their support of Mind, the mental health charity, by adding a further £1,400 to their £13,000 they raised running the London Marathon in 2009. Dave, Matt and Dick are trustees of Triangulate, set up to raise awareness of mental health issues in the workplace after Matt’s dad, Peter, died in 2008.
The team after completing the challenge – Dave Hewett, back third from right; and Matt Brook, front third from left
Triangulate was one of 24 community organisations from Romsey and the local area taking part in the Annual Voluntary and Community Event at Romsey Abbey. Held over three days this event is organised by Test Valley Community Services to give local people and visitors the opportunity to see the wealth of acitivity which takes place in the town. and to also provide information to those considering volunteering opportunities.
This year the event linked with the Civic Service and the congregation heard from three local charities about the work they carry out in the community. En route to the Civic Reception everyone was entertained by the Romsey Old Cadets Band who recruited two new temporary members to assist with their routine, the Town Mayor, Cllr Mark Cooper and the Vicar, Rev Tim Sledge.