Nationwide International’s charity committee has made a generous donation to a little known local charity with two aims in mind - to help the organisation financially and to raise awareness of what the charity is doing in the Isle of Man.
Nationwide handed over a donation of ?1,800 to Services Users’ Network (SUN) at the company’s Douglas office last week.
“We wanted to help the charity in two ways,” said Nationwide International managing director Phil Dunne. “SUN makes a really positive contribution to the local community, but very few people know about the organisation.
“We hope that this will help to raise awareness about what SUN is doing to provide a voice for individuals in the community experiencing mental health problems.”
The Service Users’?Network is a group of people who have first-hand experience of mental health problems, who originally came together in 2001 to support each other and to have their voices heard.
Its chief aims are to promote inclusion through working partnerships with a range of health, social care and other charity organisations and the development of education and training programmes.
“This donation is very much appreciated,” said Elaine Haynes, chairman and secretary of SUN. “There are more people today suffering from mental health problems than ever before. It is estimated that as many as one in four people today have some form of mental health issue.”
She added that the current financial climate is also creating an environment of worry and concern which could lead to that figure becoming one in three.
“There are a number of very sensitive issues, and SUN wants to raise awareness that mental health problems should be shared and that it is nothing to be ashamed of, as so many people are affected today.
“We are very grateful to Nationwide, firstly for their generosity in giving us this donation, but more, important than the money, it has given us the chance to raise awareness of what SUN does and how we can help people across the Isle of Man.”
Photo - Nationwide International managing director Phil Dunne and staff hand over their cheque to SUN officials Elaine Haynes and Christine Gawne.
