Support & Sponsor uS
uS rely on donations to allow us to continue our work supporting young people dealing with mental health issues across the North East.
How your money could help
- Your £4 would pay for the travel cost of a young person attending an uS session.
- Your £25 would pay for one to one support for a young person to identify their personal goals and make the step onto a uS fitness programme.
- Your £50 would pay for two qualified coaches to deliver a fitness session for a group of young people.
- Your £250 would pay for uS to hire a community venue for a full programme for a group of young people.
- Your £1000 would pay for a full programme of sessions for a group of young people.
Our big fundraising goal is to raise £250,000 to set up our own specialist uS centre in the North East so that we could offer young people experiencing mental health difficulties, and their families, a safe and understanding place to come to.
Our thanks go to all of those who have helped us raise money so far.
Ways to Donate
Make a one-off donation to uS
The quickest and most convenient way of donating to uS via your credit or debit card is with JustGiving.
Alternatively, you can make a bank transfer to:
Barclays Bank, Sort Code: 20 83 69, Account No. 13944735, using your name as the reference.
Charity Gift Aid
Boost your donation by 25p of Gift Aid for every £1 you donate.
Gift Aid is reclaimed by the charity from the tax you pay for the current tax year. Your address is needed to identify you as a current UK taxpayer.
Fundraise for uS with JustGiving
Take part in an event or organise your own!
Whether running a marathon or doing a sponsored bike ride, shaving your head or having a sponsored silence, a MyDonate page makes raising funds simple. Click here for our A-Z list of fundraising ideas, or come up with your own!
Celebrate an occasion
Whatever the occasion, whether you’re getting married, have an important birthday coming up, or have another big event in your life, making a donation can mean that your celebration is shared with our young people.
Whether you ask for donations in lieu of gifts, or simply to make a donation, you are helping uS to support a young person through the difficulties that mental health issues bring.
Remember someone special
Celebrate the life of a loved one by setting up an In Memory page. You might choose to ask for donations in lieu of flowers, or just let friends and family know so they can make a donation and share their memories.
If you are organising or taking part in a fundraising event and would like to support uS, creating your own MyDonate page is a great way to let everyone know what you’re doing and why. You can include your story, images and event and you can easily share your link with supporters and donors so that they can donate directly online.
Follow this link and start your fundraising now!
For those not online, download our sponsorship form and collect your sponsorship the traditional way!
We’d love to know what you are doing and to support you any way we can, just email us now at [email protected].
Shop for uS
If you’re an online shopper, why note raise money for uS while you shop?
Give as you Live
By registering your support for uS at ‘Giveasyoulive.com’ you can shop for products from thousands of leading online retailers; use their price comparison tool to ensure you get the best price and even save money by using the exclusive offers and deals available on their site.
… And, every time you make a purchase, a percentage will be donated to uS.
Register with ‘Giveasyoulive.com’ today and start donating as you shop.
Amazon Smile
AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, Amazon donates to uSactive. Find out how…
The Perfect Gift Card
Did you know you can raise free funds for us every time you purchase or re-load a store card online via Give as you Live?
There’s a full range of shops…even supermarkets….and they’re easy to use!
Post your donation to uS
If you’d like to send uS a donation by post, please send it with one of our attached forms to:
PO Box address coming soon, please get in touch if you’d like to donate by post. [email protected]
Donate a prize to uS
Why not let us arrange the fundraising activities, but still show your support by donating a prize or gift?
Whether you’re an organisation or an individual, donating a prize means that we can offer something in return for a donation to uS…. and we’ll make sure that your sponsorship is recognised! If you’d like to donate a prize, get in touch by emailing [email protected]
Become a corporate sponsor of uS
If your business or organisation would like to make uS your named charity or could support our organisation in other ways, get in touch by emailing [email protected]
Become a major donor to uS
By making a Major donation to uS you would be making a massive impact on our ability to offer sustained and targeted support to young people across the North East dealing with the day to day difficulties of mental health.
To find out how your donation would support our ongoing delivery or move us closer to our long term aspirations for greater support for young people in the North East, get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Why support uS
- 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental health disorder- that is about 3 children in every class!
- 1 in 4 adults have a common mental illness and more than half were diagnosed in childhood.
- In 2010 20% of children and young people in Newcastle experienced mental health difficulties.
- This is a big problem and additionally mental illness is often stigmatised and misunderstood. This leads to further unnecessary suffering. Judgements are made about mental illness in a way they are not about physical illness- “pull yourself together”.
Participation in physical activity:
- Improves mental and physical health
- Lifts the mood of participants
- Provides opportunities for meeting new people and having fun
- Helps raise self-esteem and confidence as personal goals
The lives of children and young people experiencing mental health difficulties are often typified by social isolation, self-harm, low self-esteem, anxiety, boredom and physical inactivity. This creates a cycle of despair which if not addressed, can continue for many years reducing the likelihood of developing positive relationships, good mental and physical health, as well as successfully achieving individual potential and a happy life. At worst, neglected young people can end up in custody or may die prematurely, whilst others may live lonely and unfulfilled lives.
Exercise stimulates the mood enhancing chemicals in our brain including Serotonin and Dopamine. Exercise gives us a break from the rest of our lives and whilst we exert ourselves physically we ‘escape our heads’ and day to day anxieties.
Exercise can provide psychological benefits as we set ourselves goals and start to achieve them. We enjoy progress and delight in physical changes as we lose excess weight and change shape. Feelings of self-worth start to grow.
Weight gain can be a real challenge for people with mental health difficulties as research shows that they are more likely to experience metabolic disorder and risk of diabetes than the rest of the population. To compound this some drugs cause weight gain. Consequently, participation in exercise is especially important for this group of children and young people.
Young people experiencing or at risk of mental health difficulties often experience social anxiety and become withdrawn. Participation in purposeful activities can provide a structured and ‘easier’ access to socialisation.
Thank you
We’d like to thank the following organisations and individuals who have supported us since we began:
Mental Health Foundation North East Branch
Jenifer Cole Foundation
Community Foundation