Guildford mental health charity raises record sum at 25th anniversary gala
Oakleaf, which has been supporting the Surrey population since 1997 raised £55,000 at the event earlier this month
Guildford-based mental health charity Oakleaf held its 25th anniversary gala in early October and has now calculated that it raised £55,000 after costs at the event.
The money will go towards supporting its mental health services - including counselling, employment support, mindfulness sessions, art therapy and other wellbeing activities.
The gala on October 6th was a black tie event, which featured a 3-course meal, a live auction and presentations from those who’d used Oakleaf’s services in the past 25 years.
The charity’s aim is to ‘transform the lives and futures of adults managing their mental ill-health and help them secure the skills, confidence and training needed to return to the workplace’.
Oakleaf’s Jen Clay told us that having the fundraising money from the gala couldn’t have come at a more important time.
She says the charity has seen an increased demand for their services during the pandemic - with an increase of 27% in people coming to Oakleaf compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The head of engagement and partnerships also told us that they’re expecting funding for their counselling programme to end next year, so the gala has been vital for continuing to run this programme.
“What we’ve raised could fund essentially our entire counselling programme over a year - so that’s more than 1600 counselling sessions for people who might not otherwise have access to that”
She spoke about what it was like to have more than 100 guests come together at the gala.
“To see such support and generosity in one place for the mental health services that Oakleaf provides, it really restores your faith in humanity a bit”.
She outlined how much of an impact the £55,000 will have.
“1000 pounds at Oakleaf could fund six months of one our support groups, or six months of our choir - at the Everyone Choir that meets in Guildford, or it could fund a block of six counselling sessions for four clients with an experienced counsellor”.
She finished by saying that the gala had been particularly vital given the cost of living crisis.
"The cost of living crisis really disproportionately impacts those who were already in vulnerable circumstances beforehand, and that certainly is a substantial proportion of people who attend Oakleaf”.