Suffolk mental health charity gearing up to host its largest ever fundraising event
The Colour Rush will take place at Trinity Park on Saturday
A mental health charity in Suffolk is gearing up to host its biggest ever fundraising event this weekend.
Suffolk Mind's Colour Rush will see almost 500 runners complete a race around Ipswich's Trinity Park this Saturday (5th October) - and be dowsed in colourful paint powders as they do so.
There will be the option to run either a 3k family trail or a 1.5k junior course.
Julie Long is Suffolk Mind's fundraising manager: "Movement is one of the 12 emotional and physical needs we need in order to keep ourselves well and keep us mentally healthy.
"Anything that involves getting people up and walking or jogging or running is great."
Julie also explained they really liked the idea of having something colourful in the colder months: "As the weather starts to get a bit more gloomy, it felt like a really good fit.
"Also, the community coming together and volunteering to do the showering of coloured powder over the runners seemed a really nice way to meet several emotional needs in one event."
"Fundraising is a lifeblood to us"
Julie also explained, as the charity faces rising demand for its services, she hopes the event will raise vital funds to ensure Suffolk Mind can keep supporting everyone reaching out for help: "We're seeing over 100 calls to that helpline now a day...
"Our helpline isn't intended to be a crisis line, it's intended to be the first port of call that people turn to and it's worrying to think where those 100 people a day would get help from if that service didn't exist...
"I think we sometimes have to battle that misconception that we are the national Mind charity.
"There's sometimes an assumption there is perhaps a bigger flow of money coming into us, but that isn't the case at all.
"As an independent charity, we set our mission. We deliver our services in Suffolk and we raise our fundraising.
"The money we raise stays in Suffolk. So if people give us £2.00, they can feel assured that's staying in Suffolk and is being put to use out in the community."