Arnside Ladies Choir sing for APP! A big thank you to the Arnside Ladies Choir who are holding a fantastic 'Showstoppers' concert on Friday 1st November, in aid of APP! It looks like it's going to be a wonderful event and if you're in or near to South Cumbria please do go along. With special thanks to the Arnside Ladies Choir for chosing to support APP; we hope you have a showstopping time! You can find out more about Arnside Ladies' Choir here: www.arnsideladieschoir.co.uk Thanks so much to everyone involved. Elizabeth brings Irene's Ghost to Walthamstow! Huge thanks to Elizabeth, who hosted a screening of Irene's Ghost film in Walthamstow, London on Saturday 7th September, raising funds in aid of APP! Elizabeth arranged a screening at her local cinema, Mirth, Marvel and Maud, in Walthamstow, which is an amazging Grade II* listed building, famous for having been frequented by Alfred Hitchcock and for being built on a site where films were shown as early as 1896. The screening also included a Q&A session after the film, with our brilliant volunteer Kat on the panel! Elizabeth said: "I'm so pleased that so many people could come to the screening of Irene's Ghost for APP... we had mums, dads, babies, toddlers and teens there, as well as a smattering of health professionals (including a midwife, perinatal mental health workers and a GP). It was fabulous to have Ellie Land, the animation director to introduce Irene's Ghost and lead the Q&A afterwards with Kat. Such a warm and supportive atmosphere with important awareness raising too - all from the comfort of our cinema seats. With special thanks to Elizabeth for hosting this screening. To find out more about Irene's Ghost and where it is being screened in the UK visit: http://irenesghost.com/screenings If you'd like to arrange a screening in your local cinema you can read Elizabeth's Top Ten Tips to organising a screening of Irene's Ghost here. Well done and thank you to the very brave Ele and Greg who both completed a skydive in aid of APP on 26th August and have raised nearly £900! Thank you both so much; an amazing achievement! Ele says: "I feel so proud of myself for facing up to my fears and jumping out of a plane at 13,000 feet - not a birthday I’ll forget in a hurry! My instructor was a legend and really put me at ease, conditions were perfect - not a cloud in the sky, such beautiful views! Still can’t quite believe I’ve done it but I never would have before PP so it’s definitely made me a braver person. Thank you so much to all who sponsored us, really hope the money can help other women struggling as I have and that this can inspire them that they can do amazing things again after psychosis - there is life beyond and alongside mental illness, and it can even be pretty amazing at times too!" And what a fantastic time they had on the day! You can still donate via their GoFundMe page here. A big Thank You to Ele and Greg for all your support - what a brave pair! ...and if you're interested in doing a skydive for APP you can find out more about it here. Kimberley's fantastic fitness event! A big Thank You to Kimberley for hosting an amazing 8 hour fitness event in aid of APP on Saturday 18th August, and has raised nearly £650 so far - what a fantastic achievement! Kimberley's event was split up into 8 different hour long fitness sessions, where people could sign up to one or more sessions in return for a small donation to APP, and she also laid on refreshments too! Kimberley says: "the event went absolutely fantastically yesterday! A brilliant turn out and raised £313.97. So as well as the £220 from the online page so far (it’s open for another month as yet!) Plus I have also done two cake stalls raising approximately £70 each! All in all a very successful day!" By the looks of things everyone had a brilliant time! Virtual Runner monthly challenge, May 2020 APP are the chosen charity for Virtual Runner's monthly challenge during May 2020! Virtual Runner gives you the opportunity to enter virtual races where you can run, walk or cycle anywhere, anytime at your own pace; whether it's a run around your housing estate or on a treadmill in the gym, you can join in practically anywhere in the world! Challenge yourself to complete 25k, 50k, 100k or 200k distance throughout the month of May 2020. Your challenge will be made up from multiple sessions to achieve your chosen distance but you can do it at your pace. You can choose to run, walk or cycle the distance you have signed up for between 1st – 31st May 2020 and you can mix and match any discipline to achieve your goal. It costs £8.50 to sign up and a minimum of 20% donation will be donated to Action on Postpartum Psychosis. Once completed, you just submit your results online and upload proof that you have completed the distance or challenge using app screenshots or park run stats and they'll send you a cool medal! To find out more and sign up for APP's month of May 2020 click here Or, you can watch the Virtual Runner video below: Virtual Runner Short VT from Lee Davey on Vimeo. Irene's Ghost screening in Walthamstow! Thank you to our fab supporter, Elizabeth, who is hosting a special screening of the film Irene's Ghost at 1:30pm on Saturday 7th September in Walthamstow, London, in aid of APP! Elizabeth says: "I was privileged to see a screening of Irene's Ghost at the BFI where the Director, Iain Cunningham did a Q&A. This powerfully evocative film impacted me greatly and I wanted to help others see it too! The screening will be at 1.30pm on Saturday 7th September at Mirth, Marvel and Maud, E17 4QH and is just a 2 minute walk from Walthamstow Central tube station. The building is Grade II* listed and houses a pub, cinema and cultural centre. It is famous for having been frequented by Alfred Hitchcock and for being built on a site where films were shown as early as 1896. The event runs from 1.30 to 3.30pm and will be followed by a Q & A session with APP." Tickets are now on sale here priced at £9, which includes booking fee and donation to APP. Irene's Ghost is a must-watch film for anyone with an interest in mental health but even for those who don't, it is a beautiful, moving portrayal of the intricacies of family life and the impact of the things we don't discuss. The film was recently listed as one of the best films of 2019 by The Guardian! Click here to read the article in full. You can also read APP Director, Dr Jess Heron's interview with Irene's Ghost Director, Iain Cunningham here. With special thanks to Elizabeth for hosting this screening; we look forward to seeing you all there! Emma and her mum complete 25k in Brecon Beacons! Congratulations to Emma and her mum who completed the 25K Trekfast walk in the Brecon Beacons on Saturday 6th July, and raised almost £500 in aid of APP - amazing! Emma said "I am delighted to say we completed it, and though it was tough going we enjoyed it and knowing we were doing it for such a worthy cause kept us going! The challenge included a very tough pull up the twin summits of Pen y Fan 886m and corn du taking us around 7.5 hours and nearly 45000 steps! Thank you so much for all your support through the run up to the challenge, it does feel like a real achievement." And it looks like they had a fantastic day: You can still donate via their GoFundMe page here. Thank you so much to Emma and her mum, an incredible achievement and amazing support of the charity! Kelly and Robert to run 10k in Thetford Forest! A big Thank You to Kelly and her husband, Robert, who are taking part in the 10K Forestry Race in Thetford Forest on 6th October, in aid of APP and the National Autistic Society! The Forestry 100 Running series is a unique 10k running series through the forests of England to celebrate 100 years of Forestry Commission England. What a great way to raise funds for both charities! Kelly says: "What better way to celebrate our anniversary than a walk in the park? Well how about a run in the forest? ... the 10 year 10K!! With our anniversary coming up (celebrating 10 years of marriage & 18 years as a couple), we, (OK, I, yes this crazy idea has Kelly written all over it but Robert is the best husband & is going with it) decided to set ourselves a challenge and have entered a 10KM race at High Lodge, Thetford Forest on 6th October 2019. We are raising money for 2 charities very close to our hearts. (All donations to be split equally) Firstly, Action on Postpartum Psychosis: Before we welcomed our wonderful Donal into this world back in 2011 we had never even heard of postpartum psychosis (aka puerperal psychosis). They say having a baby turns your world upside down & it really did in the most terrifying way possible. I very quickly became very severely unwell, so much so that when he was just 10 days old I was sectioned which meant I was taken away from my newborn baby & husband,against my will, to a psychiatric hospital for urgently needed treatment. It wasn’t just terrifying and devastating for us but also for our parents & siblings. Thankfully a space in a mother & baby unit (MBU) soon became available & I was reunited with baby D & could begin recovery. It was not easy for anyone but I had the most wonderful baby boy, the most loving & supportive husband & wonderful family around us. The MBU & the other mums I met there were fantastic & I was soon doing well enough to return home. Sadly, 2.5 years later I found myself re-admitted to the same MBU, this time voluntarily having already tried battling this awful illness 2nd time around at home. This time was even harder as our family was split in 2. Charlie & I in the MBU & Donal split between home with Robert & spending time at both grandparents’ homes. They spent as much time as possible with us at the hospital but it was really hard for us all. Thankfully I bounced back a 2nd time. There are so many people to thank for my recovery: family, friends, professionals, particularly the staff & patients from Rainbow 🌈 (the MBU). APP also played an important role in my recovery once back home. Helping me feel less isolated & letting me know there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Through APP I even befriended & offered support and encouragement to another Mum which I think was as much a benefit & comfort to me as it was to her. APP are also key in helping spread awareness both in general & amongst professionals which is so, so, SO, important. The earlier the intervention with pp, the greater chance of success in treating it. We ALL need to know the warning signs & when to ask for help. I was never a danger to my babies but in the early days after having Donal I was skilled at hiding how unwell I was & I did it out of fear of being separated from him. Robert & my family quickly could see things weren’t right but they really struggled to get the right help fast as they didn’t know what was happening. I remember at the antenatal class we went to the dads were all warned to look out for postnatal depression, but no mention was made of psychosis & the warning signs are very different. So there we have it, the illness tried to destroy me & my family twice but we made it!! Secondly, The National Autistic Society: As most people reading this probably already know our amazing little Charlie Bear was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in June 2016. We wouldn’t change him for the world but his condition brings daily challenges. We participated the early bird programme which is organised by the National Autistic Society. This helped us better understand the world from Charlie’s point of view and gave us more tools & strategies to help him (& us) cope with the challenges of daily life with ASD. It was also an opportunity to meet a great group of people in a similar situation to share ideas, learn from each other & just offer encouragement, support & friendship to one another. Well if you made it to the end of all that you deserve a medal! Sorry, I’ve never been good at keeping it short. But these are the reasons we would be so grateful for every single penny we can raise for these 2 charities." Thank you so much to Kelly and Robert for your hard work in training and support of APP, it is hugely appreciated by us all and we wish you the best of luck! You can donate to their Virgin Money Giving page here. Thank you Llanrhidian Primary School! Thank you to Llanrhidian Primary School and the parents who donated so many fantastic items for the Grand Charity Sale, which took place on Sunday 16th June at Llanmorlais Village Hall. The sale raised £550 in aid of APP, which is just amazing! Heather said: "It was well attended and so many local mums helped to make it a lovely community event. We thank them all for their support, for their donations and for their hard work in setting up, clearing up, and for baking loads of yummy cakes." Thank you to everyone who donated items and helped support the sale on the day! North Wales Perinatal Mental Health Team climb Snowdon! Huge congratulations to the North Wales Perinatal Mental Health Team who, along with colleagues and friends, successfully climbed Snowdon on Saturday 22nd June and have raised over £1,250 for APP and PANDAS! Despite lots of sore legs and hips they all reached the summit in good time surrounded by lots of blue sky and sunshine - a real treat, as we've been informed that the top of Snowdon is usually covered in cloud so, they were graced with some amazing, breathtaking views! What an incredible achievement - well done all! You can still donate via their Virgin Money Giving page here. APP say a very big THANK YOU to everyone who took part and completed this amazing feat in aid of APP and PANDAS - we are so grateful for your hard work and support of APP, we really couldn't do this without you!
The concert starts at 2.30pm and the choir will be singing hits from the musicals, at the Arnside WI Hall, in South Cumbria. Tickets cost £5 and proceeds will be donated to APP on the day!
Irene's Ghost is a must-watch film for anyone with an interest in mental health but even for those who don't, it is a beautiful, moving portrayal of the intricacies of family life and the impact of the things we don't discuss. The film was recently listed as one of the best films of 2019 by The Guardian - click here to read the article in full.How to arrange a screening of Irene's Ghost at your local cinema!
Massive thank you to APP for your help in setting up this event and your attendance at it. No one wanted to leave at the end and I know many important and valuable conversations were continuing long after the event formally ended."
Thank you so much to Kimberley for all the hard work to plan and prepare for the event, and for everyone who took part and donated as well. It really is an amazing achievement and we are very grateful for your support!