A man from Fazakerley is hoping to complete 12 running events in as many months to raise money for the local branch of the Young Persons Advisory Service (YPAS).
YPAS provides support to young people who suffer from mental health problems and this year marks its 50th anniversary as an organisation.
Robert Quinn, 27, has been working as a counsellor at YPAS for eight months and he has already embarked on his quest to take part in 12 running events, including marathons and triathlons, to help raise money for the charity.
It’s a decision that combines the best of both worlds for the Evertonian.
He told JMU Journalism: “I thought I would challenge myself to raise money and awareness of the celebration and the organisation.
“I do enjoy running as a hobby and I’ve always wanted to do a marathon or triathlon so I thought I would incorporate this into some fundraising for YPAS. The next thing I’d put a plan together to do 12 events.”
Officials from the FRESH campaign, which was created by young people aged 13-17 who have accessed the Alder Hey mental health service, say that it is likely that over 18,000 young people have a mental illness condition in Merseyside.
Last year over 1,000 young people accessed the YPAS services, including around 2400 hours of therapy for youngsters, along with 620 hours of group work and 868 hours of practical hours.
Mr Quinn said: “This shows the demand of the services we offer and the importance of the work YPAS does. That’s why I felt it would be important to raise some awareness about mental health and a service that young people can access to talk about problems they may be going through and receive some support.”
He’s already completed two of the events. The first was the ‘Santa Dash’ in December, he then completed the ‘Winter 10k’ in January. His upcoming challenges look intimidating, but the thought of the money that’s being raised keeps spurring him on.
Robert said: “I am finding the Liverpool Triathlon quite daunting, as part of it I will be doing a swim in the River Mersey, which doesn’t sound too nice but I will just keep in mind that it’s all for a good cause.”
His next run is the Great North West Half Marathon in February.