Racing Welfare launches 2020 Mental Health Awareness Week campaign
Racing Welfare has today outlined plans for its 2020 Mental Health Awareness Week campaign, beginning on Monday 18th May. The week is a national initiative run by the Mental Health Foundation which runs through until Sunday 24th May. Racing Welfare leads racing’s response to the campaign, which this year has been taken fully digital by the charity due to Covid-19.
Racing Welfare’s Director of Welfare, Simone Sear, talks to Nick Luck about Mental Health Awareness Week
Mental Health Awareness Week aims to bring mental health to the forefront of people’s minds, encouraging them to think of their own wellbeing and that of others around them, and to promote open conversations on the subject. The campaign also seeks to raise awareness of the mental health support available through Racing Welfare and how this can be accessed.
Tying into the Mental Health Foundation’s theme of Kindness for this year, Racing Welfare is undertaking ‘7 Days of Kindness’, whereby the charity will be publishing case studies and advice on subjects such as helping others, undertaking Mental Health First Aid training, self-care and combatting loneliness. This will be delivered through content across its social media platforms and website. Racing Welfare has also linked up with industry stakeholders to gather their support for the campaign, all of whom will be coming together to spread the message to their own followers.
In conjunction with Great British Racing, Racing Welfare have produced a Wellbeing Toolkit specifically designed to support the mental wellbeing of racing’s workforce during the Covid-19 outbreak. The toolkit, which contains useful tips and strategies for coping with the current crisis, is below or it can be found and downloaded here.
Racing Welfare’s Chief Executive, Dawn Goodfellow, said:
“Mental Health Awareness Week is a hugely important campaign for us and the industry as a whole and we are proud to lead the initiative on behalf of racing again this year. We’ve had to adapt our delivery of it this time but our aim of making it easier for people to talk about how they are feeling has not changed.
Mental health and wellbeing is more important than ever in light of the uncertain times we are currently facing. I hope that the week raises awareness of the help available through Racing Welfare and that anyone in need of support feels able to get in touch with us. I’d like to thank all of our industry partners for their backing of the campaign; I believe it sends a very strong message of support to all who work within racing.”
Susannah Gill, Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs at UK Tote Group, commented:
We all recognise the incredibly valuable work of the Racing Welfare team in looking after racing’s workforce. We hope Mental Health Awareness Week is another opportunity to shine a light on the importance of good mental health and, most crucially, Racing Welfare’s services which are available to everyone in racing.
Paul Swain, Brand & Experience Manager at the Racecourse Association too stressed the importance of the support available through Racing Welfare, saying:
“Promoting positive mental health is a year-round role and the Racecourse Association is incredibly grateful to have a resource like Racing Welfare to call upon for support, particularly given recent events. Our mental health first aider, accredited thanks to a Racing Welfare course, has been invaluable.
We are proud to support Racing Welfare’s 7 Day of Kindness Campaign as part of the wider mental health awareness week and will continue to work closely with the charity to highlight the range of services which are available to all within the sport.”
Follow Racing Welfare’s Mental Health Awareness Week on social @Racingwelfare or visit the website www.racingwelfare.co.uk.