Year one. Where do we begin?

Fuelled by our desire to do something positive in memory of Robert and Max, it’s incredible to reflect on how a conversation we had in 2023 has led to where we are now – a registered charity in the mental health and suicide prevention space, that’s found its feet and is making a difference in communities that mean so much to us both.

Having secured our charitable status in Spring 2024, we were bold and ambitious in our desire to coincide our launch with World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September. Driven by wanting to make a meaningful difference in our local communities – to raise awareness around mental health, provide support, and help educate and train people – that date aligned with our cause, giving us a platform to be part of a wider conversation.

And that same determination steered us through our first year. As a small team, we were purposeful in where we focused our efforts, determined to build firm foundations. It was a hugely rewarding year, full of learnings, achievements and positive milestones. We met some incredible people and were overwhelmed by people’s generosity in every sense of the word – with their time, advice, introductions, donations and support of our events to name just a few. And with us strongly believing in the value of collaboration, the response from other charities – regional and national rural mental health, national mental health and suicide bereavement – was incredibly heartening and encouraging. Having identified the need for regional support across Northants, Bucks and Beds, we’re incredibly proud to see our name on the map alongside other well-respected charities like YANA, FCN and RABI.

And it was also a year of firsts that pushed us out of our comfort zone. Giving interviews (when cows don’t decide to calve) and speaking in front of different audiences are far removed from what we are used to day-to-day. Yet the more we do it, the easier it becomes and we’re grateful for the opportunities to tell our story.

Some of our personal year one highlights included:

·      Training 45 people in mental health first aid and how to talk about suicide

·      Our launch Harvest Ball

·      The reaction to our launch film and winning at the Smiley Charity Film Awards

Training is a key area of focus for us. Having people on the ground with the confidence, skills and knowledge to recognise the signs of someone who is struggling. To have important conversations with compassion. To know where to signpost people to help and how to support them as they seek the help they need. Partnering with talented and experienced trainers, the fully funded sessions we’ve delivered have been made possible in part thanks to the donations we’ve received and the fundraising people have done for us.

When it comes to mental health and suicide prevention, there are always risk factors to consider including those which can be industry-specific. For agriculture this includes the change to inheritance tax, which has been, and continues to be, a ticking time bomb for some families, and the weather. The dry spring and wet summer were hugely challenging and many farmers are experiencing silage, hay and straw shortages. Taking these factors and others into considerations, we believe it’s more important than ever to be looking out for and supporting our friends, families and neighbours.

For all the highs of that first year, there were challenges and the odd frustration along the way, but we learnt from them and carried them forward. We can hand on heart say that our first twelve months surpassed all our expectations. We couldn’t be prouder of our team, what the foundation has achieved and the positive legacy we’ve created in Robert and Max’s memory.

As we look ahead to 2026, we’re excited for what’s to come and want to say thank you again to everyone for their support so far.

Take care,

Kate & Lewis