At the beginning of the year, we launched our Ampersand #MindMonth to raise funds for Manchester Mind, to raise awareness of mental health support and to introduce new initiatives at Ampersand to support health and wellbeing in the office.
With the funds raised during our #MindMonth, Manchester Mind can now offer 40 vulnerable people with mental health issues a free three-course meal at their community café, which really makes a difference during the colder months. The ‘Food for All’ project not only helps to break the social isolation that people often feel when they are unwell, but it also tackles food poverty and other complex issues that café guests experience in their daily lives.
Throughout January and into February, we hosted:
A Lunch and Learn with the team, and viewed Sarah Knight’s TED Talk on The Magic of Not Giving a F*ck, followed by a group discussion on mental health boundaries;
A Bake Sale to raise money within the office;
A ‘Play Day’ with colouring books, crafts, paint and origami;
A Games Tournament covering ping-pong, pool, Jenga and giant snap – with our UX Consultant, Jake, reigning as our champion;
A wrap-up and reflection Lunch and Learn to discuss how Ampersand can best support the team with mental health and wellbeing.
Our goal with our #MindMonth activities varied from directly offering our team members day-to-day support through to building relationships with team members that the team may not usually work with. Not only did we host several initiatives to support mental health and build relationships, but we also launched our Workplace Wellbeing policy to ensure everyone felt appreciated and supported, were being treated fairly and to know what resources were available outside of our #MindMonth.
We’re proud to support a local charity that aligns with our ethos, and we’re excited to continue doing so in the future.
The post Ampersand Supports Manchester Mind: Our #MindMonth Activities appeared first on Ampersand.