Cambridge United is hosting its annual Mental Health Matchday this Saturday for the visit of Sheffield Wednesday...
The fixture announcement comes on World Mental Health Day as Cambridge United and Cambridge United Community Trust partners with Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and South Lincolnshire (CPSL) Mind, Plan International UK and Shout 85258 to further reinforce the message of the importance of looking after our mental health.
A bucket collection will be taking place around the ground to raise money for CPSL Mind whilst First Team Management will be wearing STOP Suicide badges, an award-winning suicide prevention campaign which reaches across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough that is led by (CPSL) Mind and supported by local NHS and Public Health teams. U’s players will also wear Mind shirts during the pre-game warm-ups.
Plan International UK is a global children’s charity who strive to advance children’s rights and equality for girls all over the world. Since 2010, they have been working with AstraZeneca - the Club's Community sponsor - on the Young Health Programme, which aims to empower young people around the world to live healthier lives and create change in their communities.
The Young Health Programme has now come to the UK to empower young people to realise their right to good mental health and wellbeing and they are looking for Young Health Programme advocates to call for positive change on mental health and wellbeing by representing the voices of other young people.
If you are based in Cambridgeshire, aged 16-24, with a passion for young people’s right to good mental health and wellbeing, get in touch at yhp-uk@plan-uk.org. Representatives will be at the game on Saturday to talk about the campaign with supporters and to sign people up to be advocates.
Finally, as ever, the Club's Matchday Social Media content will be sponsored by Shout 85258, the free, confidential, anonymous text support service.
Community Trust Head of Operations, Vicky Neal said, “We are thrilled to welcome CPSL Mind and Plan International UK to join us on Mental Health Matchday. The Club and Community Trust are continuously reviewing how we can best promote and support individuals with their mental health and our partnership with these key organisations enables us to do so.”
Cambridge United's flagship mental health programme ‘Mind Your Head’ is designed to improve young people’s mental literacy and boost their wellbeing, teaching them that mental health is something we all have.
The six-week programme is delivered by the Trust's Mental Health Officer to whole year groups, giving young people a good level of understanding, a space to talk openly amongst peers and explore strategies to take care of themselves. For more information, please click here.