14 Oct Bringing a Little Brightness to Clitheroe – Fundraising for Papyrus
Tuesday the 14th was the last fitness session of the term for the Moorland Ballet Academy 6th Form and with this and current global circumstances in mind, the students and their Ballet Director, Mr Kidd, decided on an impromptu fundraising drive. To prove a strong point, Mr Kidd kindly volunteered himself to dress up as a flamingo and complete a 5km run around Clitheroe, driving home an important point about appearance and actions in the process. When further members of the School community caught wind of this they quickly volunteered to join in the fundraising efforts with Mr Cofie of Moorland Football Academy & Mr Wrench of Moorland School also running the 5km.
The day wasn’t the brightest we could have wished for in October, but that didn’t dampen the wide support shown from the whole School, with Infants & Juniors lining the School drive to wish the runners well, then also performing their own laps of the school with the 6th form ballet students also dressing up for their run in support of the charity. Our three fancy dressing runners who took to the streets of Clitheroe commented on the wide ranging kindness shown by the local community with donations and waves of support along the entire route!
The run was performed in support of PAPYRUS – Prevention of Young Suicide. When deciding on a charity to support with this fundraising event Mr Kidd stated that “with the current global climate it is more important than ever that our young people are not forgotten, and no young person should be suffering in silence, it is inevitable with the current climate that levels of stress, anxiety and worry are at new heights. It is important that we raise awareness to these issues so we can make a solid change. We decided to dress up today as part of this fundraising just to show some of our students that it looks and appearance aren’t the only thing that matter, our fundraising efforts for the charity are far more impactful that the outfits we had to wear.”
Following up from his points, Mr Kidd was also candid in admitting, although he was aware of the issue, he didn’t know the true impact of what the UK as a whole was faced with. Echoing the message from PAPYRUS, now understanding that suicide is the biggest killer of young people – male and female – under 35 in the UK. Every year many thousands more attempt or contemplate suicide, harm themselves or suffer alone, afraid to speak openly about how they are feeling.
“Papyrus provide confidential support and advice to young people struggling with thoughts of suicide, and anyone worried about a young person through their dedicated helpline, HOPELINEUK. Every donation we have raised will go towards keeping this organisation running and providing the support needed throughout the UK. I’d like to thank my colleagues, students, teachers & parents for their time and generosity at such short notice as well as a grateful message to our local community for their support on the day.”
The day itself provided everyone involved, including the local community, a good laugh for a good cause, with many confused on-lookers questioning what they had just seen as well as generous residents handing money directly to our runners. The day quietly reminded the Staff members how important the community interaction is to a School nestled so close to the heart of the town. With cogs now ticking, the team are carefully considering opportunities for future community involvement with charity fundraising and also to help raise awarenesses with local businesses. To date the school has raised just over £600 for PAPYRUS and is hoping to get that total closer to £1000, before the closing date
of November 30th, if you would like to contribute to us reaching our goal you can donate on the following web link: www.mpschool.me/papyrus
To everyone who has donated to the cause so far, again thank you, and we hope the fun and costumes might have just brought a small smile to your face.
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