5th May 2017
Next week is Mental Health Awareness Week (#MHAW17) and Frontier has pledged its financial support... and people power.
Colleagues working at Frontier sites across the UK will be taking part in a number of fund raising events during #MHAW17.
The company has added its support by committing to give a penny for every tonne of grain purchased from UK farmers during the week to Farming Help. Frontier trades an average of 100,000 tonnes of grain every week, so the pennies will soon add up to hundreds of pounds.
Sharon Kennett, chair of Frontier’s The Responsible Choice steering group said: “We’re really looking forward to taking part in Mental Health Awareness Week. We’ve got lots planned around the business and we expect to raise a good amount for this cause through the grain purchases alone. But what colleagues are most excited about is getting involved themselves and taking time out to have some fun and take part in events that could make the difference between ‘surviving or thriving’ during the working week.
“We have a huge range of events and charity challenges planned. There’s everything from people signing up to run a sponsored marathon, to organising a bake sale or dress down day, or even shaving their head for charity! We’ll be having fun but there’s s serious message behind this too.”
Mental Health Awareness Week comes shortly after Frontier announced that it is working alongside the charity, Farming Help on a range of fund raising and awareness projects this year. Money raised from all events and pledges will be split among the Farming Help charities.
This activity is part of Frontier’s The Responsible Choice (TRC) sustainability and responsibility initiative. Colleagues working on The Responsible Choice chose Mental Health Awareness as their first area of focus because it is an area where they could make a real difference. Agriculture has been recognised as an area of occupation where people are at more risk of encountering depression. Farming Help gives people in agriculture access to a host of support.
Sharon added: “’People’ is one of the pillars of TRC and we know that lots of farmers aren’t aware of just how much support is available to them. This week will help draw attention to the issues around good mental health, particularly in agriculture, and also to the help that’s out there for farmers and their families from Farming Help.”
Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 8th-14th May 2017. More at: www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week and follow the action on Twitter @frontierag #MHAW17
