28 Not Out - Max Hunter Fund Mental Health Awareness Week Roadshow 2024
Alex Wallace
28 Not Out - Max Hunter Fund Mental Health Awareness Week Roadshow 2024
Mental Health Awareness Week is an important date in the Mintridge Foundation calendar as we always turn our attention to the Max Hunter Fund - a fund created to keep our much-loved friend’s fun, caring and sporting memory alive after Max died by suicide in 2019. We hope to be changing perceptions and challenging stereotypes in the process. We deliver mentoring programmes across the UK focussing on Max’s favourite sports and encouraging a new dialogue around how to look after our mental health just as we do our physical in schools, sports clubs and colleges across the UK.
Our Roadshow took us to Northamptonshire County Cricket Club as our first stop.
Mintridge Foundation Ambassador and former cricketer, Patrick Foster shared his harrowing lived experiences of addiction and mental health with the audience and enlightened them on the dangers of neglecting their mental health when faced with a setback.
With Patrick’s lows, there have been some incredible learnings and life-affirming moments, and Patrick shared some brilliant insights with players and coaches about what they can do to support themselves and others in all areas of their lives; simple changes to our dialogue with friends to grasping the opportunities that life presents you. These are changes that Patrick has altered significantly.
Patrick shared his story with raw emotion and vulnerability. Key themes included how to improve our mental health but remain true to the fun and close environment that team sport and being part of a community can bring. Thank you to everyone that joined us.
Our Roadshow journey continued to Epsom as Team Mintridge returned to Nescot College two years on from our previous visit.
Patrick was joined by British, European and World Indoor Rowing Champion and fellow Mintridge Ambassador, Ben Gallagher who openly shared about the challenges that he has faced since leaving the military with life-changing injuries.
While Patrick shared with the cohorts of students about how he suffered in silence during his pathological gambling addiction and how he hated himself, Ben shared a very different tale of how he could his physical injuries, but it was the mental challenges that were far harder to confront and deal with. What shaped both of Ben and Patrick’s recovery stories that the audience could take away with them was the art of the possible, the power of talking and the small wins in life (like eating a chocolate ice cream).
There are occasions when the Mintridge team can see the power of the programme impact so quickly and our trip to Nescot was definitely one of those days. Students and staff alike opened up to Mintridge, to their teachers and to their peers and we are extremely grateful to Ben and Patrick for enabling these conversations.
Thank you to the teams at Northants and Nescot who welcomed Mintridge with open arms and allowed stories to be shared and difficult conversations to be had.
We are always available should any support, help or advice be needed.
The Mintridge Foundation is a UK-wide charity dedicated to turbo-boosting young people's development and opportunities through the transformative power of sports. Our innovative programs and collaborations inspire, mentor, and guide the next generation to thrive.