News: Sunderland Empire Partner With Sunderland Mind And Footloose To Raise Money For Local Lads

 

Sunderland Empire

Partner With

Sunderland Mind And Footloose

To Raise Money For Local Lads

Sunderland Empire collaborates with Sunderland Mind and Footloose The Musical to fundraise for Men’s Mental Health Awareness Week

 

Let’s hear it for the boy! Sunderland Empire are to collaborate with Sunderland Mind and visiting musical Footloose all this week (Mon 6 June – Sat 11 June) to raise money for the local charity ahead of Men’s Mental Health Awareness Week (15 June – 20 June).

 

With MentalHealth.org reporting that men aged 40-49 having the highest suicide rates in the UK, and referrals to NHS talking therapies for men being at just 36%, Sunderland Empire wanted to collaborate with the local body to raise awareness of their ever-vital services whilst raising money to assist in helping fund them.

 

Sunderland Mind does vital work to provide a wide range of supportive and therapeutic groups, counselling and training services aiding Sunderland locals daily.  

 

The theatre’s ‘Let’s Hear It For The Boy’ fundraising campaign, named after the famous song featured in Footloose the musical, will be kicked off with an 80’s themed opening night in which visitors are encouraged to dress the part by donning their best retro look. Though tights and brights, leg warmers, crimped hair and shoulder pads will be encouraged all week.

 

Any donations that can be spared upon customer’s visits will go directly to Sunderland Mind to help fund the incredible services they provide. If visitors wish to donate, they can do so by cash via the Sunderland Mind charity collection buckets or by phone via PayPal by scanning one of our posters within the venue.

 

Marie Nixon, Theatre Director at Sunderland Empire said: “It is becoming increasingly important, even more so after the pandemic, that mental health and support services are discussed more openly and destigmatised both in the workplace and in our personal lives. This wonderful collaboration with Sunderland Mind and Footloose The Musical gives us the opportunity to use our platform to reach out to our visitors at Sunderland Empire to raise awareness and funds for our those ever-vital local services.”

 

Victoria Austin, Communications Worker at Sunderland Mind said, “To mark Men’s Health Week, we have teamed up with Sunderland Empire to help raise awareness of men’s health, more specifically men’s mental health. With men still struggling to speak openly about their emotions and less likely to access psychological therapies than women (MentalHealth.org.uk), it is increasingly important we raise awareness this week to help break down the stigma.

 

To encourage this, our Men’s Group provides a space to show men they can share, support, and explore their personal challenges confidentially in a non-judgmental way. The group meets every Tuesday 10:30am – 12pm, is open to all men and has a small fee of £1 to cover refreshments. If you would like more information, please contact Paul on 0191 5657218 or email paul.booth@sunderlandmind.co.uk”