On Friday 11th November, Olympus Events held their annual Eastern Winter Ball for the House Building sector at Parklands Quendon Hall in Saffron Walden. The Curve Foundation were fortunate to be their chosen charity for the night and we enjoy being a part of the evening.

The event began with a lively drinks reception before guests were seated for the delicious three course meal, entertainment and the awards ceremony. A charity auction was held with some very generous lots, including an amazing seven night ski stay at a luxury chalet in Morzine, and tickets to watch the Lionesses verses Netherlands at Wembley Stadium. Thank you to everyone who donated lots and to all those who made extremely generous bids towards them.

We are grateful to Olympus events for preparing the fundraising activities and for encouraging support for the work the charity does during the evening. We would like to thank Mark Blenkin, Deputy Head of Moulsham High School who gave a poignant speech regarding the impact that the counselling services are having on his students. We also want to share our appreciation to the two sixth formers, Finley Wallbank and George Weaver for sharing their personal experience with their mental health struggles and how the Curve Foundation have helped them through these challenging times.

Thank you to Olympus events for hosting such a wonderful evening that ended with dancing and live music. A grand total of £40,021 was raised for the Curve Foundation by the house building sector so thank you to everyone who kindly donated and participated in fundraising for us.

Join us this June for our new seven a-side over 18s charity football knockout tournament, the Curve Ball Cup!

Taking place on Sunday 11th June at Moulsham High School’s Football Pitches, this family friendly fundraising event is a chance for your team to show off your football skills whilst raising vital funds to support our work with children and young people.

There are 16 team spaces available in the tournament with each team having a maximin of 10 players to form their 7 a-side. The tournament is made up of 15 minute matches, starting in groups, with the top two teams of each group moving on to the knock out stages.

As a charity fundraising event, we are asking for a suggested entry fee of £200.00* per team for the tournament with an additional team fundraising target of £500.00 to be raised on the run up to the event.

There will be refreshments and entertainment at the event throughout the day, but you are welcome to bring your own should you wish. Further details will be released soon.

To sign up for the tournament please email us at: hello@curvefoundation.org.uk. Please tell us your team’s name and the team’s main contact name and details. We will send you instructions of how to pay your entry fee and how to set up your team fundraising page.

In the last five years, the likelihood of young people having a mental health problem has increased by 50%. In a classroom of 30 children it’s likely to have 5 with a mental health problem. Alarmingly 75% of children and young people who experience a mental health problem aren’t getting the help they need.

The Curve Foundation gives children and young people access to vital mental health and wellbeing support before things get unmanageable. However, to do this we need to raise funds to keep up with the current high demand and make an impact on as many young lives as we can. With your support we can provide children and young people with the tools and resources to effectively manage their mental health, both now and when they reach adulthood.

Thank you for your support!

*Should you feel you can not meet the suggested entry fee, a minimum entry fee of £100.00 per team is required to enter the tournament. We do however encourage you to consider the charitable nature of the football tournament and help us have a greater impact on the mental health of as many children and young people as possible.

It is coming up to that time of the year again, when we ask you to join us, for our exciting Miles over Mind fundraising campaign.

May is both Teenage ‘Self Esteem’ Awareness and National Walking month. It is the perfect time to join the challenge and raise vital funds to help support children and young people with their mental health. Did you know of the young people in the UK, 79% say how they look is very important to them and 52% worry about the way they look. (Statistics from Beat, eating disorder charity.)

This May we are asking you and other members of the Curve Foundation community, to join us in walking, running, cycling, swimming or even scooting to complete our 50 or 100 mile challenge.

How to get involved

This sponsorship activity can be done on your own or with a group of friends and family. You can split the distance, rope in your children and grandchildren or even bring the dog! It is completely up to you how far, when and how you wish to undertake your challenge.

All we ask is that you set up a fundraising page using this link, link your page to the Miles Over Mind 2022 campaign and get your friends, family and colleagues to sponsor you via your page.

Sponsor someone else doing the challenge

We know that not everyone will be able to complete the challenge but that doesn’t mean you can’t support others who are. You can always donate to the campaign here, if you would prefer to support someone else while they undertake the challenge. Every donation we receive enables us to have even more of a positive impact on young lives and for this we are truly grateful.

Tell your story

Share, tweet, like and use #milesovermind to help raise awareness of the challenge for others to see. With your help, the money raised will enable the continuation of our Essex school counselling service, which supports young people to manage their mental health such as anxiety and depression.

Please feel free to get in contact us with via hello@cuvefoundation.org.uk should you have any questions about the campaign or how you can get involved. We would love to hear from you!

How to track your progress  

Use both your fundraising page and the Curve Foundation Facebook event (coming soon) to showcase your progress! We would love to see screenshots, videos and all sorts of photos!  

You can use a basic Excel spreadsheet, Samsung Health App, Nike Run app, Bike GPS, Map my Run and My Fitness Pal! The choice is yours!  You can screenshot your distance daily, weekly or bi-weekly, and put it into your fundraising page and the Facebook Event to showcase your progress. It will be great to see ????  

At the end of the month, email hello@curvefoundation.org.uk with your distance completed for your Curve Foundation challenge certificate.  

And don’t forget to share on all your own social media platforms to shout out about your progress and gain those donations.  

We are happy to share that with your support, the May Day Raffle raised £627 for the charity to help continue to provide mental health support to children and young people in Essex.

Thank you to everyone who took part and everyone who donated a price or brought a ticket, we really are grateful. Lots of amazing prizes have been won, including the Apple iPad which was won but Sarah Franklin (Pictured above), well done.

We hope you will join us again for our Autumm Raffle in the new school year and look forward to continuing our mission our supporting young people’s mental health journeys.

Could you fundraise in aid of the Curve Foundation? Get in touch via hello@curvefoundation.org.uk or set up a JustGiving fundraising page here.