News

Here at the Foundation, our core aim is to help others “because it’s the right thing to do”. This is not only through the variety of mental and physical health and addiction support services we offer, but also on a direct and individual basis where help is needed.

We recently helped a local lady by the name of Gill in Rainford, who having recently lost her husband in sudden circumstances, was finding it impossible to maintain and manage her garden, as well as look after 2 small children. After speaking with her, we offered to pay for it to be landscaped and become a place that she could go and sit and remember her husband with fond memories.

This will hopefully have a positive impact on improving Gill’s mental health and wellbeing, as well as being something that we wanted to do to give back to the community  and bring some happiness into her life after such a tragedy.

Gill has this to say:

My husband died suddenly, leaving me and 2 young children. The Standing Tall Foundation have helped me by making our garden much more manageable and low maintenance so it’s not as overwhelming for me to maintain. It has meant the world to me as it has allowed me more time to look after our children, and has given us a lovely space to sit and reflect. Thank you to Andy, and everyone at the foundation for your help

Here are some before and after pictures!

We wish Gill all the best in the future and her new garden!

If you are struggling or need help  – please don’t hesitate to reach out and contact us.

Saturday was an absolutely fantastic day and triumph, as two teams took part in the ultimate obstacle course that was Born Survivor! Situated in the beautiful grounds of Capesthorne Hall, Macclesfield, make no mistake, Born Survivor’s not your average mud run or obstacle fun day – this is the ultimate military obstacle course challenge!

Born Survivor courses are set using the natural terrain features with up to 30 epic military training inspired obstacle challenges. Thousands of participants began in the starting cage and prepared to run, climb, haul, leap, slide and crawl as they stampeded round the 10km or 5km course.

Running to raise money for the Foundation and Willowbrook Hospice were Wharton Fitness Works and FlamCo. They both tackled the course with amazing determination, effort and gusto and we salute them!

Not only did they all complete the course, but they also raised over £7k for both charities in the process!! This is an outstanding fundraising effort and we are so grateful to everyone that donated and took part.

Here are some photos from the day:

If you dare take on this adventure you’ll need a stiff upper lip to conquer the challenge alone. We encourage teamwork and even if you don’t enter as a team we know you’ll assist your fellow Survivors in completing the course. But it’s not a race; it’s designed as a challenge for everyone over the age of 16 to tackle at their pace, whatever their ability.

The good news is that the next Born Survivor date has now been released and will take place at Ribble Valley, Gisbourne Lancashire on the 16th September.

Please watch this space for further details and how to register for the next one!!

A huge congratulations are in order for local St Helens Football team Pilkington FC, as they are crowned winners of the North West Counties Football League First Division North Championship! They won 4-0 last night at Bacup Borough to secure the league title and promotion to the Premier Division.

The STF are extremely proud to be the Official Shirt Sponsor Partner of the new Champions, and have supported the team massively over the last year. Our logo can be found in a prominent position on the distinctive green shirts of the players, and we are delighted to gain their support in raising awareness of the Foundation and what we stand for.

We wish them all the best in their rise to the Premier Division, and long may their winning streak continue!

Our Founder Andy Reid MBE had this to say:

It’s great to work in partnership with such an outstanding local sports team, and support each other fully with what we do. I’m really proud to see our logo on their shirts every time they play, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for them!

The Foundation is always ecstatic when people undertake personal challenges and choose to support us in doing so. We are therefore delighted that James Sloane  from JMW has chosen to run the Manchester Marathon on April 16th to raise funds for the Foundation. 

James works in the JMW Military Claims department as a Solicitor for servicemen and veterans who have unfortunately sustained great suffering through the line of military duty. They represent many different kinds of victims such as PTSD sufferers, deafness cases, cold injured clients, sufferers of orthopaedic injuries, as well as victims of abuse, bullying and discrimination.

James says:

I planned the marathon many months ago as it has always been a challenge I’ve wanted to conquer. I tried to do one in 2013 but pulled out due to injury and it has taken me 10 years to muster up the fitness and conviction to go for it again. I heard about Andy’s story through my Head of Department, Clare Stevens, who has known Andy for years. I was greatly inspired by his Kilimanjaro climb last year. I have always found the struggle of overcoming adversity to be greatly inspiring and nothing encompasses the glory of fighting back more than Andy and his foundation which is why I selected the foundation for the run !

We are very grateful to James for his support and wish him all the best with the run!

Please give generously and show your support on James’s Just Giving Page HERE.

This weekend saw The Foundation facilitate a pre-season bootcamp with the 2nd Battalion at the Yorkshire Regiment for the Saints Women’s team. The two day event involved many team building activities and challenges which brought the team together off the pitch, ahead of the upcoming season.

Here are some pictures from the day and social media tweets:

Our Founder Andy Reid MBE said:

“Myself and everyone at the Standing Tall Foundation are delighted to be sponsoring Jodie Cunningham again for the 2023 season. I have worked with Saints women’s team and the England women’s team over the last few year’s.

Myself and Craig was talking about team building and leadership at around the same time I was asked by the 2nd Battalion at the Yorkshire Regiment to deliver some Wellbeing and Mental health projects for the Soldiers and Officers.

Having served in the Yorkshire Regiment and being a big fan of the women’s game, it was fantastic to help organise a pre- season boot camp for Saints women, and keep building that relationship to hopefully inspire some female infantry soldiers to take up rugby league and get involved with Saints.”

Well done ladies, we wish you all the best for the upcoming season!

It’s been another exciting month here at the Foundation – and our latest announcement is just that! We are thrilled that Evolution Fitness XL have joined as our latest Foundation Partner.

Based locally in St Helens, Evolution Fitness was set up by local lad Mike Garner. The ethos behind the gym is that “hard work pays off”. They reject all forms of negativity, motivate everyone to be included and celebrate all forms of achievement. They want to be more than a gym, and want to support everyone to reach their goals, break their limits and feel like they’re part of a like-minded family.

We were delighted to welcome them onboard, as here at the Foundation, we know the importance of  physical wellbeing, and the positive impact it can have on your mental health.

Our Founder Andy Reid MBE had this to say:

“It’s fantastic to be working with Mike and everyone at Evolution Fitness XL. Obviously physical wellbeing goes hand in hand with mental wellness and overall wellbeing, so it’s great to partner with them and receive their support for the Foundation.”

Welcome guys! We look forward to working together going forward!

If you are struggling with your mental health and wellbeing, or need some advice on how to improve your physical health, please get in touch with our Wellbeing team.

We are absolutely ecstatic to announce that The Standing Tall Foundation are now official Guinness World Record holders for the “highest altitude burger delivery on land!” 

Back in October last year, our Founder Andy Reid MBE became the first ever triple amputee in the UK to reach the summit of the mighty Mount Kilimanjaro.

As if it wasn’t enough, there was another world record also broken on that momentous day. In collaboration with our sponsor Uber Eats, Andy and the team were able to “deliver” the first ever burger and fries to the top of the mountain, 19,341 feet above sea level!

Successfully organised by Daniel Hodges, who also took part in the Kili challenge, the burger was made prior at British Burger chain Honest Burger in Manchester, and was safely vacuum packed and transported in the team’s luggage in preparation for the epic journey it was about to go on.

It took six days for the burger to travel from the foot to the top of the highest mountain in Africa. The burger travelled approximately 4,522 miles from where it was made to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro by car, plane and on foot by Andy Reid MBE and his team of climbers.

As the team battled with altitude sickness and tummy bugs, we were unsure whether it would make it to the top, but we are delighted to say it did, and it has now officially broken a world record for the highest altitude burger delivery on land!

You can see it for yourself on the official site HERE.

Matthew Price, Uber Eats UK and Ireland General Manager at Uber said: “When we heard Andy Reid and the incredible team at The Standing Tall Foundation wanted to work with us to take our deliveries to new heights and break the World Record for the highest altitude delivery on land, we jumped at the chance to be involved. We were proud to raise awareness and funds for an important charity which is dedicated to promoting the physical and mental health of communities across the UK.”

We are absolutely ecstatic to announce that we have launched our very own STANDING TALL clothing brand!

Working in collaboration with local St Helens based clothing brand Merakilo, we have designed a simple, yet powerful logo and range of clothing to match, for both men, women and children. There is a range to suit everyone.

The ethos behind the branding and the mountain, (which is Mount Kilimanjaro by the way) is to represent the epic challenge that Andy faced last year when he became the first triple amputee to reach the summit. This was Andy’s mountain, and the struggle he faced was real, but he was able to overcome the adversity he faced and climb to the top.

Most importantly, the logo symbolises that we all have our OWN Mountain to conquer – whether it be our Mental Health, Physical Health, Addiction issues, or just general life challenges – we can face them and defeat them and not let them defy us!

STAND TALL AT THE TOP OF YOUR MOUNTAIN

Our Standing Tall clothing is available to buy HERE 

Or please visit our merchandise page on the website.

All proceeds generated go towards providing our Mental Health and Addiction Support Services

We are delighted to announce our latest Foundation partner as Integral Legal Costs based in Wilmslow, Cheshire. 

Integral Legal work with their clients as trusted members of their team.  They aim to be an extended department of your business; as advisors upon whom you can always rely throughout the conduct of your case – from inception to conclusion and at every stage in between.  They acknowledge the lack of personal touch that a lot of their competitors have with their clients and strive to be the exact opposite of that.

Integral Legal are a well rounded business, offering services in Costs Drafting, Costs Management, Training, Advocacy, Strategy, Solicitor Act Disputes, Informed Consent and Funding.

Victoria Morrison – Hughes is the Founding Director of Integral Legal.  Victoria is a qualified Costs Lawyer with a degree in accountancy and finance, coupled with extensive experience working as a lawyer in high street practice which provides Victoria with unique insight into both the operational and technical demands of a legal business.

She had this to say about the partnership:

“Having met Andy at an event in July 2022 and visiting the Standing Tall Foundation the impact on me personally and my family has been overwhelming, such that I have not been able to stop thinking of ways in which I can help the Foundation.  Becoming a partner was an immediate way to get on board but I look forward to continuing to find ways to help promote the Standing Tall Foundation and the exceptional work that Andy and his team do.”

We are really grateful for their support and are excited to be working together in the future, as we believe they will be a great asset to the Foundation!

If you are interested in becoming a partner of the Foundation, please get in touch with our Executive Officer Charlie Eke:

charlie@standingtallfoundation.org.uk

Children’s Mental Health Week will take place from the 6th – 12th February 2023 and the theme this year is “Let’s Connect”.

Let’s Connect is about making meaningful connections. People thrive in communities, and this connection is vital for our wellbeing. When we have healthy connections to family, friends and others – this can support our mental health and our sense of wellbeing.

For Children’s Mental Health Week 2023, children are being encouraged to connect with others in healthy, rewarding and meaningful ways.

National statistics show that 50 % of mental health issues are established by the age of 14 and 75% by age 24.

70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not received support at a sufficiently early age. 

Here at the Foundation, we have offered Mental Health support to around ten young people over the past two years. Invariably we have found that young people are awaiting assessment elsewhere and are expected to wait between three to six months. We are in a fortunate position whereby we can invite people into our Counselling service within two weeks. Unfortunately, schools don’t appear to be offering any substantial support when it comes to emotional wellbeing, and therefore lots of young people simply don’t know who to turn to.   

The Standing Tall Foundation practices Solution based Therapy. We teach coping strategies including mind management techniques which encourages children and young adults to focus on their reactions rather than circumstances. The results generally include anxiety management and stress reduction. 

Our Head of Therapies, Phil Parr has seen a variety of young people displaying different issues, here are some of their testimonials:

“My son is 12 and has struggled with bullying at school which has left him with lots of painful memories and feelings to deal with. Counselling has offered a safe place to talk about his emotions and feelings in difficult times. Counsellor Phil is installing positivity and coping tools to help my son deal with the emotions and the results speak for themselves. He looks forward to seeing his Counsellor and he is improving all the time.”

“My daughter is 15 and has very high levels of anxiety. She has struggled during the Covid Pandemic and not seeing her friends. Her confidence was at an all-time low and she was having lengthy periods off school due to her mental health. She attended Counselling with STF, and the results were almost immediate. My daughter has learned how to challenge negative thoughts and behaviours and she has learned the importance of stepping out of her comfort zone. Counselling has enabled her to regain her confidence. She has passed her exams and is looking forward to the future.”

If your child is suffering with Mental Health issues and you need some support or advice, please get in touch with our lead Mental Health Counsellor Phil:

phil@standingtallfoundation.org.uk