APP selected to receive a share of CharityJob's annual giving We're delighted to announce that APP has been selected as one of the recipients of CharityJob's annual charitable giving initiative. More than 700 charities applied for a share of the £100,000 made available by CharityJob, and only seven were chosen, with APP being awarded £15,000. The donation will go towards supporting mothers and families affected by postpartum psychosis through our peer support projects; our work around awareness raising and combatting stigma; and through developing and disseminating high quality, reliable information and training on PP for families and healthcare professionals. Dr Jess Heron, APP's CEO said: 'This donation will make a real difference to the lives of mums affected by PP and their families. We know our peer support work changes and saves lives, with around a third of respondents to our recent survey saying they may not be alive if they hadn't found APP. It can be difficult to find funding for projects supporting severe maternal mental health illness, so we're very grateful to CharityJob for choosing APP for this award.' We know times are tough for many at the moment with bills going up and the cost of living increasing. We are very grateful to all our supporters for continuing to think of APP and donating to help us continue to support mums and families affected by postpartum psychosis. We understand that not everyone may be in a position to donate right now, so we've come up with a list of ways to support APP that won't cost you a single penny. Please get involved if you can. Thank you for all your support for APP – we couldn’t do the work we do with mums and families without you. Gift Aid Awareness Day #TickTheBox 6th October is Gift Aid Awareness Day What is Gift Aid? A £10 donation processed with Gift Aid becomes a £12.50 donation. What do donors need to do? Who qualifies to donate through Gift Aid? Higher rate tax payers Example for higher rate tax payer For more on Gift Aid visit cfg.org.uk/tickthebox If you'd like any more info, email fundraising@app-network.org APP's Royal Parks Half Runners We have three amazing runners taking part in the Royal Parks Half marathon in London on Sunday 9th October. This unique challenge 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. All our Royal Parks runners have first hand experience of a PP diagnosis and the impact this can have. Sarah chose to run for APP as she h 'APP give great support to women with a history of PP and they are raising awareness. I want to raise some funds to help them continue this great work.' To support Sarah, visit her fundraising page. Steve is passionate about raising funds for, and awareness of APP after his wife was diagnosed with PP nine years ago after the birth of their first child. He says: 'APP has been a reliable touchstone for information and community in the years since. They are a small charity so every donation, no matter the size, makes a difference and helps them carry on their good work.' Find out more and offer your support to Steve here: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/steve-bushell2 Sharing their story as part of his fundraising campaign has been a positive way of raising awareness of postpartum psychosis. He says: 'As well as our amazing families and friends, we have been fortunate to have the support of the APP community and the NHS staff over the last eight months. Their work makes such a difference to those unfortunate enough to experience postpartum psychosis.' You can support Jamie's fundraising efforts here: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/app-stock A massive thank you to all our runners and to everyone who has supported them. We're so grateful and the funds raised will make a real difference to so many families affected by postpartum psychosis. Good luck to the APP London Marathon 2022 Team APP are very lucky this year to have three runners taking on the challenge of the TCS London Marathon on Sunday 2nd October. All of them have been training (and fundraising!) hard for months and are looking forward to the big day! Read more about Debbie and add your support here: https://tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/deborah-sells Find out more about Vanessa's story and support her here: https://tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/vanessa-guttridge Sara was hospitalised with PP when her baby was just 5 days old. She says 'Organisations such as APP (Action on Postpartum Psychosis) are like gold-dust. With it being such a rare illness with a quick onset, there's very little support out there.... Most people have no warning of what the illness looks like, what to do when symptoms present themselves or where to go for help. That's why APP are amazing! They have a range of services that support both the individuals suffering and their families. They help women feel understood, signpost, listen, advise, empower and ultimately save lives!' You can read more about Sara's journey and offer your support here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sara-fernandes86 It's a massive commitment to train and complete a full marathon so a huge thank you to all our amazing runners, and to everyone who has supported them so far - every donation makes a difference, and we're sure knowing they have raised so much will keep our runners going all the way to the finish line! Katie takes the plunge for APP Laura and Helen complete their challenge! Sisters Laura and Helen have taken part in various events this year to raise funds for APP culminating in the Great North Run, which took place on Sunday 11th September. Following the sad news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, there was some last minute uncertainty about whether the run would go ahead, but organisers decided an event that brought people together and raises millions for charity would be a fitting tribute to the late Queen. A huge thank you to both of you from all at APP. Trichana had postpartum psychosis after the birth of her son in 2014. Like many affected, before being diagnosed herself, she had never heard of PP. She was hospitalised in an MBU for one and half months. She says of that time: "I was so poorly. I couldn't take care of my son and myself. I was very weak mentally and physically. I used to be tearful without any reason, I couldn't sleep and my appetite had gone down gradually. I even thought sometimes there is no reason to live." Trichana is now fully recovered. She says "Those moments were very difficult and challenging for me and my family, but I have learned and experienced there is always bright light after a thunderstorm." She is running to help other mums affected by PP. Thank you so much Trichana. If you'd like to follow Trichana's journey, or offer your support, she regularly updates her justgiving page here: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Trichana-Rai All the teams raised vital funds for Action on Postpartum Psychosis (APP) and awareness of postpartum psychosis while having a great time and enjoying some delicious bakes! At Beadnell Ward, Morpeth Mother and Baby Unit, APP's Morpeth peer support team have been baking with the mums. Our sessional peer supporter Kerry has enjoyed making lovely cakes (the pink cupcakes pictured) and a sunny walk with the mums. Baking is always a popular activity and we hope you agree that the finished results look delicious too! Do you fancy holding your own Big Bake event? Get in touch and we'll send you your free The Big Bake pack. Find out more: www.bit.ly/APPTheBigBake Sisters challenge themselves for APP 'I experienced postpartum Psychosis after the birth of my second child Lucy. She was 6 weeks old when I was admitted to the Beadnall Mother and Baby Unit in Morpeth. It was there that I received excellent support from the APP peer support worker Sharon Bell. Sharon was there to support me and my family, speaking often on the phone with my mum to help ease her mind that I was going to recover. She was always there for me when I needed someone to talk to and she was very reassuring and supportive. It was also reassuring looking at the information on the website and reading stories from other mums who had suffered and recovered from postpartum psychosis. To raise money for APP my sister and I completed Total Warrior in June which was hard but really fun! We will also run the Great North Run in September. We wanted to raise money for APP to ensure they can continue to provide the support to other mums suffering with postpartum psychosis and we have raised over £1400 between us so far.' Thank you so much to both Laura and Helen for taking on these challenges and thank you to everyone who has donated to support them so far. You can read more about their stories and support Laura and her sister Helen here:
If you work somewhere you get through a lot of ink, you can get a free collection box. Find out more and get your freepost label here: recycle4charity.co.uk
Gift Aid is a tax relief for charities in the UK to increase donations – at no extra cost to the donor. When a
charity receives a donation from a UK taxpayer, the organisation is entitled to claim an extra 25% paid on
that donation.
Donors need to #tickthebox on our Gift Aid declaration form and provide some basic personal details, return it to us and then we can claim 25p for every £1 given.
Once a donor has given their permission by filling in the Gift Aid declaration form, there is no need for them to do anything else.
For charities to claim Gift Aid on a donation, the donor must have paid UK income tax or capital gains tax that tax year, at least equal to the tax that the organisation will reclaim on the individual’s donations.
Even if the donor is not currently employed they are eligible to make Gift Aid payments so long as, at some point in the tax year in which they make the donation, they pay enough tax on any of the following:
• Personal or occupational pension
• Stocks or shares
• Bank or building society savings accounts
• Rental income
• Overseas or UK investment dividends
Higher rate tax payers are entitled to claim the difference between the top rate of tax they pay, and the basic rate on the total value of the donation. Individuals can claim the additional tax relief through their self-assessment tax return or by asking HMRC to amend their tax code.
You donate £100 to charity – they claim Gift Aid to make your donation £125. You pay 40% tax so you can personally claim back £25.00 (£125 x 20%).
ad PP when she had her daughter at age 37.
She says: 'I am now 57 and celebrating 20 years of good mental health aided by regular running and other things. The internet was in its infancy 20 years ago, so I didn't meet anyone else with experience of PP until I discovered APP.
Steve Bushell is an experienced APP fundraiser, having already completed a marathon for us last year!
Jamie Stock is running to raise funds for APP after his wife was diagnosed with PP earlier this year.
Debbie Sells is the Ward Manager at the Margaret Oates MBU in Nottingham, so APP is a cause close to her heart. She says 'I am in the privileged position to nurse women at a very frightening and horrendous time in their life, but to see them recover and enjoy family life with their children.'
Vanessa Gutteridge is running for APP as she was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis after the birth of her son eight years ago. She is keen to raise awareness of the illness, as well as vital funds. She says: 'It took me years to recover and I still often think about the milestones of Archie that I missed, mostly in his first year or so and it hits me how poorly I was but im so grateful for the support I had when he was born and the years after.'
Sara Fernandes will be taking on a slightly different challenge - she's still completing the full 26.2 miles on the 2nd October, but instead of doing it on the streets of London, she'll be taking part in the virtual version around her home town of Anglesey.
The very brave Katie Mead recently took part in a skydive in aid of APP - jumping 12000ft from a plane over Swansea, and raising more than £600 in the process!
Laura and Helen were really pleased that the run went ahead, and both completed it in brilliant times. Not only that, between them, they raised nearly £2,000 for APP - an amazing achievement - and definitely deserved their medals!
Trichana Rai from Colchester has chosen to take on a mammoth challenge for APP - aiming to run 300km in six months.
A HUGE thank you to the teams at the Morpeth Mother and Baby Unit, Exeter Mother and Baby Unit and the Pennine Specialist Perinatal Community Mental Health Team who held our first #APPTheBigBake events this week!
Laura Kirkpatrick and her sister Helen Long are undertaking several challenges this year to raise funds for APP. They have completed a Tough Warrior event, Laura has run the Great North 10K and both of them will be running the Great North Run in early September.
She says "I loved every second of it! It was absolutely amazing and everyone must do it once in a lifetime! I’m doing it again next year for the same cause, because it's so close to my heart." Thank you Katie.
If you fancy taking the plunge for APP, there are skydive centres all over the UK. We'd love to hear from you. Email: fundraising@app-network.org