The Wasleys 10K run for Action on Postpartum Psychosis

A huge thank you to Chris Wasley and his wife Natalie who ran 10k on Sunday 18th April to support and raise money for both APP and the Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) at Bournemouth.

Natalie had PP in 2019 and had a total of three stays in the MBU at Bournemouth. Despite the illness, Chris and Natalie have many fond memories of their time there and say that the care the staff provided for Natalie and their son was amazing. Chris has found APP’s Partners Peer Support scheme very supportive.

In January 2021, they decided to start running with the goal that together they would complete a 10k run and share their story to increase awareness of PP.

Chris and Natalie both achieved their personal best times in the 10k run, and met a man at the event whose close friend had experienced PP.

Following the run, Chris said ‘Thankyou to everyone for the support and donations, but more importantly thank you for taking the time to read about our PP story.

We could not have dreamt of the amount we have raised for APP and our MBU in Bournemouth, but to us the most incredible thing we have achieved is raising awareness for this illness.

Chris and Natalie’s fundraiser has raised more than £1700 for APP and the Bournemouth MBU. We would like to thank Chris and Natalie for supporting APP and everyone who has donated.

If you have been inspired by Chris and Natalie, we would love to support any fundraising ideas you have! Get in touch here.

 

 

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Kate Stevenson-Pugh's hair shave for Action on Postpartum Psychosis!

A huge thank you to Kate Stevenson-Pugh who had her hair shaved on 12th December to raise awareness and money to support APP’s work.

Kate developed postpartum psychosis after the birth of her first baby.

Following the head shave, Kate said ‘Action on Postpartum Psychosis is such an important charity for women affected by PP and recovering. I’m absolutely thrilled that the total raised so far is up to just over £1,380 with gift aid. My hair is gone and my ears are chilly!’

Kate’s fundraiser has done a fantastic job of raising awareness, as well as funds, through her JustGiving page, which you can still visit and donate to here. Thank you Kate for your support of APP and to all who have donated.

If you have been inspired, we would love to support any fundraising ideas you have. Get in touch with us here.

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Dominic's TikTok live stream to support APP

A huge thank you goes to Dominic Bamber, who a year and a half after skydiving for APP, organised a TikTok live stream event and video challenges on 1st January 2021 to raise awareness and money to support APPs work.

Dominic is a committed supporter of APP and has a sister who was affected by the illness, so the charity is close to his heart.

You can find a link to Dominic’s TikTok page here.

Dominic’s fundraiser has done a fantastic job of raising awareness, as well as funds, through his JustGiving page, which you can still visit and donate to here.

If you have been inspired by Dominic, APP would love to support any fundraising ideas you have. Get in touch by email.

 

 

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Support APP this festive season

We would like to thank you for your support this year. 2020 has been a difficult year for many people. Separation from family and friends has been a challenge for us all, but isolation and lack of support has been particularly hard for pregnant women, new parents and those recovering from postpartum psychosis (PP).

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, APP’s priority has been to support women and families who need us.

We’ve concentrated on: providing high-quality peer support; setting up new services to help people connect during this time; signposting pregnant and postnatal women to the right services; and disseminating expert information. This year we have:

  • matched 246 women or partners with a recovered volunteer to receive one-to-one peer support.
  • supported 250 people a month on our Peer Support Forum. The Forum now has more than 2,700 registered users, and is open 365 days a year, providing a place for anyone affected by PP to talk about their experiences and find support from volunteers.
  • launched a new video call 1:1 peer support service.
  • have continued to hold regular café group meet ups (via video call and socially distanced walks) and added a new café group for North Wales taking our number of regional social groups to seven.
  • increased our support for partners, with a new Partners Coordinator, Simon, and more dad volunteers trained in peer support.
  • reached millions of people with our social media campaigns and media pieces, including developing our #MumWatch graphic - raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of postpartum psychosis – which has been seen by 278,500 people.
  • delivered training and lived experience talks to more than 1,700 multidisciplinary health professionals.
  • worked locally and nationally to help improve services and campaign for the needs of women and families who develop PP during the pandemic to be met.
  • set up lots of new online social activities, for example: the APP Book Club; a Running, Walking and Cycling group; art and craft activities, and more to help people stay connected.

2020 has brought financial challenges for maternal mental health charities at a time when support has never been more vital. If you would like to support APP’s festive appeal financially you can: 

If you’re not able to make a donation this year, you can help us in other ways as we try to break down the stigma surrounding perinatal mental illness and raise awareness of postpartum psychosis. Please share APP’s posts on FacebookTwitter and Instagram and talk to whoever you can about the importance of maternal mental health charities and specialist perinatal services. Look out for lots of PP and APP press pieces over Christmas.

Thank you for supporting us through this difficult year.
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Send festive e-cards and support APP this year

Browse APP's wonderful festive designs to send as e-cards to your loved ones.

Send APP e-cards in 5 steps:

  1. Choose your e-card design from dontsendmeacard.com
  2. Write your personalised message
  3. Donate the cost of cards and stamps
  4. Send your e-card to up to 100 people with just one donation
  5. Feel good in knowing that you've helped support APP's work
Send festive e-cards and donate the cost of cards and stamps to APP > 

Thank you to our e-card artists this year

The artworks for our festive e-cards this year have been created by mums with lived experience of postpartum psychosis, their children and families, by staff at Mother and Baby Units and our supporters. Thank you to everyone who got in touch to share their designs for our e-card appeal.

With thanks to:

  • Beth, age 9
  • The Margaret Oates Mother and Baby Unit, Nottingham
  • Hannah, age 7
  • Alexis Stevens
  • MotherFeels
  • Seth, age 5
  • Jane Hamilton-Whatling
  • The Ribblemere Mother and Baby Unit, Chorley
  • Jocelyn Ellams
  • Anneliese Appleby
  • Gillian Seale
  • Sarah Spring
  • Faye Sheel
  • Ada-May, age 5
  • and to everyone else who sent in a card for our appeal
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Four million steps for Action on Postpartum Psychosis!

A huge thank you goes to Rachel Lucas and friends, who together as a team of 11, walked four million steps for APP during the month of November to raise awareness and money to support APP’s work. Rachel developed postpartum psychosis in the days following the birth of her daughter Evelyn and spent six weeks in Leeds Mother and Baby Unit (MBU).

Following her amazing efforts, Rachel said We were very pleased we beat our target for the steps and the fundraising! It was harder than we expected to keep up the minimum steps every day for a whole month. Especially on work days, with the weather being miserable a lot of the month and the fact we had a few members of the team in isolation at various times! But it was good to have something to get us through the lockdown. I’m glad to hear our fundraising efforts will make a big difference.’

Rachel has signed up to be one of our five runners in the London Landmarks Half Marathon (LLHM) which will take place on 23rd May 2021. We hope your training goes well and you are looking forward to the big day.

Rachel’s event has raised such incredible awareness and funds through her JustGiving page, which you can still visit and donate to here. Thank you Rachel and friends for your support of APP and to all who have donated!

- Rachel’s event has so far raised more than £1,500 for APP!

If you have been inspired by Rachel, APP would love to support any fundraising ideas you have. Get in touch here.

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Run for APP at the London Landmarks Half Marathon!

APP is looking for five enthusiastic runners to take part in the London Landmarks Half Marathon on Sunday 23 May 2021, could it be you?!

About the event
The London Landmarks Half Marathon on 23 May 2021 takes in some of the capital's world-famous landmarks on closed roads in central London and is the only half marathon to go through both the City of London and City of Westminster.

While participants run past some of London’s most spectacular landmarks, the event will highlight how we are coming together as a nation during the Covid-19 pandemic. LLHM will be honouring the key workers, re-creating some of the fun moments of lockdown life, and remembering the kind actions of neighbours.

The race starts by The Strand, finishes by Downing Street and includes views of London’s most iconic landmarks including Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral, Nelson’s Column, the Gherkin, the Shard, the Tower of London and the London Eye.


You can find out lots more about the event here > 

How to sign up
If you would like to run the London Landmarks Half Marathon and raise funds for Action on Postpartum Psychosis at the same time, please get in touch with Kelly via fundraising@app-network.org. Thank You!

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Simon & Jude's cycle to support APP!

A huge thank you goes to Simon and Jude Hill, who organised and cycled 2,255 miles from Lands End to John O’Goats, and back to support APP!

Starting on 21st August 2020, Simon and Jude finally finished their ride (over 47 days) by early October just in time for World Mental Health day and the birth of their latest grandchild.

At the beginning of the epic journey, the weather was against them, and Jude recalls cycling up and down relentless hills in rain and heavy wind. The couple had also decided to camp whenever possible to minimise the risk of contracting corona-virus. This meant their sleep and recovery often took place in a damp tent. As campsites began to close because of the virus, they often struggled to find a place to stay. As well as raising funds the couple have been doing all they can to raise awareness of the severe mental health illness by talking to people along the way.

Following their amazing efforts, Simon said: ‘Our aim was to raise awareness of postpartum psychosis and everyone that we met showed, interest, concern and compassion and promised to talk to others about the condition.‘

The Hills were inspired to fundraise for APP after one of their daughters suffered from Postpartum Psychosis after giving birth.  You can read an article about their story here.

Simon and Jude raised such incredible awareness and funds through their JustGiving page, which you can still visit and donate to here.

Thank you Simon and Jude for your incredible efforts and support of APP and to all who have donated!

- Simon and Jude’s amazing fundraiser has raised more than £5,500.00 for APP!

If you have been inspired by Simon and Jude, we'd love to support any fundraising ideas you have! Get in touch here.

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Sally runs a half marathon for APP!

A huge thank you goes to Sally Hogg, who a year after skydiving for APP, organised and ran a half marathon around her local area on 11th October to support APP.

Sally is a big supporter of APP, and has two friends who were affected by the illness, including one who spent two periods in Mother and Baby Units after the birth of her sons.  Sally also worked on improving services for women with perinatal mental health problems and is an admirer of APP’s work, particularly the central role played by women with lived experience.

Following her amazing efforts, Sally said: 'The run was great, we had some lovely support from friends.  I am thrilled with the fundraising and hope to get some more when the Royal Parks happens too’

Sally was due to be running the Royal Parks half marathon for APP in October, which has sadly been postponed due to COVID-19. However, Sally is still looking forward to completing the Royal Parks race next year.

Sally raised such incredible awareness and funds through her JustGiving page, which you can still visit and donate to here.  Thank you Sally for your continued support of APP and to all who have donated!

- Sally’s fundraiser has raised a fantastic £919.00 for APP!

If you have been inspired by Sally and would like to run in aid of APP, email us here. We would love to support any event you choose!

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Emma & Laura's 100 Mile Challenge

A huge thank you to both Emma Watt and Laura Dockrill who organised and ran 100 miles to support APP and PANDAS!

Emma completed her 100 miles throughout the month of June 2020 and raised such incredible awareness and funds through her Virgin Money Giving page, which you can still visit and donate to here.

Following her amazing efforts and the support Emma received by every supporter, Emma said: 'I was overwhelmed by the love and support from everyone and this really spurred me on for the 100 miles. I couldn’t be prouder to hand over the baton to Laura Dockrill x'.

Despite an injury, Laura completed her 100 miles with the help of 33 friends who each ran 3 miles/5K on the same day on Saturday 22 August 2020.

The runners included @hugowhitenoise @daisymaydock @r_mcbean @hdurkle @sioby11 @robertemms @victoriabuzzington @el_matthews_ @ssoufian @annekaharry @jadeanouka @_gracesavage @thesabrinagrant @zeshaldinho @helen_kenny @victoria_cooper @gemagain @camtstagram @danusztan @db_personal_training @becki_haslam @torie_green @lindseyjrussell @waureng @peggysuekaty @jagjagomix @ezzamcp @jasonsales @samuelking @mkpyoungman @freddie_errington @johntrindle @thelippyrunner @maxulla and @secakery.

In a video shared with her Instagram followers on the day of the run, Laura said: 'The love and support has just been overwhelming, I had goosebumps the entire run. It's without a doubt, the easiest 5K I've ever done because the energy was just so amazing..'. You can watch Laura's full clip here and still donate here.

Thank you Emma and Laura for your fantastic efforts in support of APP and thank you to everyone who took part and to those who donated.

If you have been inspired by Emma & Laura's 100 mile challenge and would like to run in aid of APP, email us at fundraising@app-network.org. We would love to support you!

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