Ben is running next month’s London Marathon on the 27 April and we are delighted that he has chosen to raise money for Relate Mid East Surrey.
Help support Ben: Go direct to Ben’s page
Ben was moved to choose our charity from his own life experience and explains,
“Whilst the charity is well known for its work with couples, nowadays over a third of its work is supporting young people through times of difficulty. Young people may need support to address issues such as parental separation, bullying, eating disorders, social media, relationships, low self-esteem, loneliness at University and exam stress, to name just a few. The counselling they provide offers a vital safe and confidential space where the young person can talk about difficult issues without feeling judged. As a parent of a child who has been through a mental health disorder (anorexia) I know first-hand how difficult it is for both them and the family supporting them having charities like Relate are a massive help.”
Ben goes on to set himself an amazing challenge of running 9 x 100km ultra-marathons this year and in the process raising money for good causes, including RMES.
We would like to thank Ben for his support and to everyone who has donated to his fundraising page. Every £1 helps.
To help Relate and Ben go direct to Ben’s London Marathon page.
If you wish to know more about how to support young people in our local area, take a look at Our mission for 2025
RMES have started the year on a mission – to move ever closer to our goal of making counselling financially accessible to all. We also increasing our surround care – supporting the whole family and expanding our outreach on positive mental health and communication.
During the pandemic our centres and charity shops closed for a considerable length of time. Our staff speedily restructured our working processes and upskilled to deliver remote counselling. We offered free counselling to local young people and the number of bursary requests for our adult services greatly increased. Thankfully we were able to meet that need, however it has greatly impacted our bursary fund and we to be able to continue to subsidise our sessions for those in need and continue to meet Relate’s mission – to make expert information and support for healthy relationships available to everyone.
We are a financially independent local charity, covering the 4 boroughs in Mid and East Surrey. So how do we provide our bursaries? Our charity shop is a valued source of income and we are very grateful to the team of shop volunteers. We also apply for grants from charitable funds such as Children in Need, National Lottery and local councils. Support can also come from local businesses, several of whom have supported us by donating to our crowdfunding campaigns or making us their charity of the year. Individuals have supported us with fundraising ideas, such as our marathon runners or donating a percentage of sales. For every £1 donated we are truly grateful.
HOW CAN YOU HELP US ON OUR MISSION?
There are many ways you can help either with time, skills or money…
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- Donate via Crowdfunder, Just Giving or Paypal.
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- Take a look at our current Volunteer roles or contact us if you wish to donate your time/skills in a different way
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- Sign up to London Marathon My Way and take on the challenge at home
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- Nominate us as a charity of the year at your workplace
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- Donate good quality goods to our charity shop or make a purchase
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- Add Easyfundraising to your browser and raise money when shopping online at no cost to yourselves.
Relate’s mission – to make expert information and support for healthy relationships available to everyone.
We are so excited that Ollie has taken on the challenge of running the 26.2 miles amongst some of the most famous London landmarks to raise funds for our work in the Mole Valley, Tandridge, Reigate & Banstead and Epsom & Ewell area with young people.
Preparing for the London Marathon on the 21st April, Ollie hopes to raise upwards of £2000 which will be used to offer counselling to those who would otherwise find the cost barrier to accessing support.
“I’m running for Relate, who are an amazing charity, whilst the charity is well known for its work with couples, nowadays over a third of its work is supporting young people through times of difficulty. Young people may be facing difficult times and need support to address issues such as parental separation, bullying, eating disorders, social media, relationships, low self esteem, loneliness at University and exam stress, to name just a few.
The counselling they provide offers a vital safe and confidential space where the young person can talk about difficult issues without feeling judged and they can develop coping skills, build resilience and improve relationships.
As a young man I have witnessed how challenging life can be for young people and how difficult it can be to talk about things that are bothering you. If you can sponsor me to do this challenge, no matter how much, I would be very grateful.”
Find out more about our Young Person’s counselling service HERE
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