Would you like to enjoy the exhilarating and unforgettable feeling of a skydive - flying through the clouds from over 10,000 ft at up to 120 mph? If you are looking for the experience of a lifetime, we would be delighted if you would like to take on a sponsored free fall parachute jump in aid of APP, and if you raise enough sponsorship, you can jump for free! We have teamed up with Skyline, a professional charity fundraising events organiser, to offer APP’s supporters this amazing experience of flying through the clouds. You will be strapped to your qualified British Parachute Association tandem instructor who does all the hard work for you, leaving you to enjoy the invigorating feeling of free falling before gliding to the ground. You can jump from any one of over twenty BPA approved airfields across the UK and no experience is necessary as you will be given training before your jump. Watch Skyline's exhilarating video of a Tandem Jump to get a feel for what it might be like for you, below: This incredible challenge will give you the biggest adrenaline rush you could ever imagine and you soar through the air knowing that you have helped raise invaluable funds for APP: as a small charity, your energy is vital to ensure we can keep operating our information and peer support services. We've had eight fantastic and very brave people skydiving in aid of APP already - find out about their amazing experiences: So what are you waiting for?! Book now to experience the challenge of a lifetime, or, contact us to find out more!
A huge Thank You to Dominic, who very bravely jumped out of a plane and did a skydive in aid of APP on 11th May! Dominic had a fantastic experience, with lots of sunshine and a gorgeous blue sky filled day, which certainly helped! Dominic chose to fundraise for APP after his sister suffered with PP, he said: "I’m doing this to help break the stigma of perinatal mental health and support those who need it most, like my sister did. Talking to my sister, Kerry, I said I wanted to a charity skydive and that’s when she mentioned I should do it for the charities close to her, and I felt that APP would be an amazing charity to support. When Kerry’s illness was at its worse I couldn't help as I didn't know anything about it. She was too scared to talk and too frightened about what might happen if she did. Now that she is better I know she reached out to charities like PANDAS and APP. Knowing that I couldn’t help my sister at the time, as she was too scared to talk or reach out, was extremely heart breaking not only for me but for our family and friends as well. This is why I have chosen to do a sky dive for APP, to raise the much needed money to keep charities like this going, as they were invaluable to her." Dominic has raised an amazing £550 so far! And you can still donate via his JustGiving page here. Thank you so much to Dominic and to everyone who so generously donated - we really couldn't do this without you! Ele said she wanted to fundraise after she developed postpartum psychosis after the birth of their son in 2016. She says "Three years on, I’m still recovering and keen to do anything I can to raise money for the charity which has helped me and my family so much on our journey, APP (Action on Postpartum Psychosis). I have benefited so much from the peer support programme in particular and the opportunity to meet other women near me who have been through a similar mental health crisis to me. Please visit their GoFundMe page here and donate what you can. Thank you. With huge thanks to a very brave Ele and Greg! If you are interested in doing a skydive in aid of APP click here to find out more. Oórlagh and team complete Belfast marathon! Huge thanks to Oórlagh and her amazing team of friends and family who took part in the Belfast Marathon and 9 Mile Walk on Sunday 5th May in aid of APP, and have so far raised over £2,500! What a fantastic achievement! Oórlagh's team also extended to Aberdeen where three members of her family did their own 9 miles and managed to raise over £300! You can still donate via Oórlagh's JustGiving page here. With thanks to everyone who took part, and everyone who's donated, we really couldn't do this without you! Thank you to Helen who raised over £200 serving up delicious home-baked cakes with tea coffee at the Northallerton Park Run, which took place on Easter Saturday, 20th April. Helen was busy baking up some lovely cakes and buns and the sun shone brightly on the day - it looks fantastic and the runners were definitely well looked after! You can still donate via Helen's JustGiving page here. A huge thank you to Helen for all your amazing baking skills and hard work in support of APP! A fantastic 'Ladies Charity Night'! A big Thank You to Debbie Walter and Naomi Gibbs who hosted a fantastic Ladies charity event supporting West Berkshire Parent Carer Forum and APP at Deanwood Park, Stockcross on Saturday 30th March 2019. Debbie reported back from the event: Naomi Gibbs, beauty therapist and director of The Hourglass wanted to bring together women to celebrate their natural beauty and raise funds for charities that made a direct difference to families’ lives. Working alongside a lifelong friend and professional mobile hair stylist Debbie at Hair Alchemy they decided to offer an evening of professional hair and beauty, shopping and of course cocktails! Guests were spoilt for choice with two fabulous make-up artists Chloe (Fox and Hounds) and Ella Beauty who enhanced their make-up and offered professional advice. They truly worked their magic. Debbie was then was on hand to tweak their hair and spruce their styles. Ladies were then able to have a professional photo shoot with Dawn Lowe. Fiona Worby was present from West Berkshire Parent Carer Forum, a local special needs charity and the co-host Debbie Walter was representing the charity Action on Postpartum Psychosis, a charity which had personally supported her and her family. Also supporting the event were stall holders Ann-Marie with homemade chocolate gifts, Emil from Vamped demonstrating cosmetic fillers and discussing Botox. Debbie Medlin a special needs massage therapist gave up her time with friend offering sample massage treatments on the night. There was a fabulous pop up clothes shop, manned by Angela Watson and many clothes and gifts were donated by generous clients. Ladies were also able to book a clairvoyant reading with Lorraine Lees who proved very accurate and popular. The night managed to successfully raised £660 which will be split between the charities. A huge thank-you to the generosity of local companies such as: Camp Hopson, Lorraine Lees, The Woodpecker, Crab and Boar, Compton Barbers, UK Paintball, Emma James Photography, Dawn L Lowe Photography, Pilates with Danni, The Hourglass, Hair Alchemy, Massage Therapy with Debbie Medlin, The Fox and Hounds, cakes by Kate, Deanwood Park Golf and Deanwood Park therapies, Kylie Barke and Philippa Ponting." A very big thank you to Debbie and Naomi for organising the event and to everyone who took part and so generously donated gifts as well - we couldn't do this without you! Oórlagh and team take on the Belfast Marathon! A big thank you to Oórlagh and team of friends and family who are taking on the Belfast Marathon and 9 Mile Walk on Sunday 5th May in aid of APP! The 2019 Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon route begins in Stormont and finishes at Ormeau Park with over 17,000 participants expected to hit the streets of North, South, East and West of the City. Oórlagh says: "All donations will help create much needed awareness and support for such an important charity, APP. Thank you to all those who have already sponsored with cash. Greatly appreciated." Please support Oórlagh and her team and donate what you can via her JustGiving page here. Huge thanks to everyone taking part! An amazing evening of Music 4 Mums! A huge Thank You to everyone involved in the Music 4 Mums event that took place at The Gresham Centre, London, on Friday 29th March. It was a truly fantastic evening, and a very special event to start APP’s Music 4 Mums celebrations for 2019, to mark UK Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week (29 April to 3rd May). APP's Hannah (Peer Support & Regional Rep Co-ordinator) was delighted to attend and speak at the event, she says: The opportunity to raise awareness of the devastating nature of PP and also what APP can offer, including our information and award-winning peer support, had also included an interview with Sophie as part of a piece on the ITN London news that evening, and a brief appearance by me about what PP was – a short sound-bite but important to have APP in there. Thanks to Sophie for sharing her story and also the brilliant venue of her employer’s roof garden with views of the city, which the film crew were very impressed by! The event had been organised in memory of a choir member, Amy, who sadly lost her life after suffering an episode of PP last year. It was clear how much she had meant to the singers as they performed rousing songs, which were interspersed with moments of comedy, dark humour and gritty readings by esteemed performers including Romola Garai and Alex Waldmann. BAFTA award-winning actress Imelda Staunton was breathtaking in her reading of Jessica Pidsley’s “Mutha Courage”, written about her experience of PP and featuring in a recent Radio 4 documentary (read more about it here). The audience were enthralled and moved by Imelda’s passionate account of Jessica’s experience. The evening ended with an emotional tribute by Amy’s husband Phil, who joined the choir in their last number. There was not a dry eye in the house as he spoke about losing his wife and the stigma which still surrounds psychosis. As we spoke to the audience and members of Amy’s family at the end of the performance, we all felt that the evening had been one we would remember for a very long time. PP Mums are amazing and the loss of anyone from this horrific yet treatable illness was something that was important to be part of. It was a privilege to be just a small part of this fantastic event." You can watch a short clip from the event via Kings Place Choir's Twitter feed here Singing, celebration, spoken word and sisterhood! We are delighted to announce the first Music 4 Mums event for 2019! Taking place on Friday 29th March'Music 4 Mums' is an evening of singing, celebration, spoken word and sisterhood. Featuring a stellar line up of female artists and special choral performances by Kings Place Choir, Great Ormond Street Staff and Parent Choir and Choir Baby, a choir for new Mums and Dads. "This event will raise money for APP, and launch their ‘Music 4 Mums’ campaign for 2019. This campaign aims to celebrate mums with musical events all over the country, raising awareness of the need for adequate maternal mental health care services in every area of the UK, and raising much-needed funds to support APP’s vital work supporting women and families affected by postpartum psychosis....This event is an opportunity for people to come together in support of each other, lending their voices to the voiceless and helping to stamp out the dangerous stigma attached to motherhood and mental health, whilst raising funds for Action on Postpartum Psychosis. Please add your voice to this important conversation by coming along. Every scrap of awareness and funding will go towards helping a Mum get back on her feet so she can enjoy her new baby and hold onto the future she deserves." You can book tickets online via Eventbrite here £15 per ticket + booking fee, or find out more via the Facebook event page here. A very big thank you to everyone involved, we can't wait to come along and experience a fantastic night! APP at this year's Royal Parks Half! APP are looking for two enthusiastic runners to take part in this year's Royal Parks Half Marathon on 13th October 2019, could it be you?! This stunning central London Half Marathon, takes in some of the capital's world-famous landmarks on closed roads, and four of London's eight Royal Parks - Hyde Park, The Green Park, St James's Park and Kensington Gardens. The award-winning event was set up as an annual fundraising initiative, raising sustainable funds for the Royal Parks to support London’s eight Royal Parks, and enabling charities of all sizes to be involved in a major challenge event. If you would like to run the Royal Parks Half Marathon and raise some much needed funds for APP at the same time please get in touch with us via fundraising@app-network.org Thank You!
- Megan's skydive on 30th June 2018
- Team APP's skydive on 16th September 2018
- Dominic's skydive on 11th May 2019
A big Thank You to Ele and her husband Greg, who are doing a skydive on 26th August in aid of APP!
I have to admit the idea of skydiving terrifies me as I’ve inherited my Dad’s vertigo, but I’ve learnt that fears take up as much space as you’ll give them so I’m keen to overcome the fear and jump to help other ladies in the future who will need the support of APP in their lives. Please help me raise money for this amazing cause! Every donation will help. My husband Greg will be jumping with me. Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that means such a huge amount to us."
"Let’s raise a glass to the amazing team of helpers, donators, professionals and attendees!
The Ladies charity event was made possible by Deanwood Park in Stockcross generously providing their fabulous function room which was a perfect venue for our ladies. Their staff team Nigel, Flip, Ben and Chris worked tirelessly and went the extra mile to make the event special.
"When I was asked to say a few words between numbers sung by the Choir Baby, Kings Place Choir and Great Ormond Street Choir, with their Director Naomi Hammerton, I felt really lucky on so many levels to be there. It was a wonderful opportunity to spend time with London Regional APP volunteers, Sophie and Jessie, who were fantastic in helping to represent APP at the packed event held in the beautiful surroundings and acoustics of the Gresham Centre, in the city of London near St Paul’s. We also bumped into APP Media volunteer Fiona and managed to grab a photo with her in the interval! We were accepting donations to APP including at the bar which was busy all evening and we had many opportunities to talk to audience members about APP and the work we are doing to support women and families affected by PP.
