At Basking Babies, charity is of great importance to us as a community. We regularly run fundraising activities to support the Great Ormond Street Hospital: Never Far Away Essex Appeal, and this year we decided to support an additional charity alongside, in light of the difficulties everyone has faced over the past year.
The Importance of Mental Health
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the importance of mental health has never been more prevalent. We might have struggled individually or witnessed close friends and family members being affected during this difficult and uncertain time. Perinatal mental health has suffered. As a result, services offering mental health support have been stretched and pushed to their limits.
Mental health is not something that should be brushed aside, which is why raising money for Mind – a charity committed to supporting people’s mental health and wellbeing – was an important decision for us at Basking Babies.
With postnatal depression (PND) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) increasing significantly during the last year, bringing a community of new parents together for a charity marathon in order to raise awareness and funds for a key charity was something we were keen to put into action.
Basking Babies Charity Day
On Saturday 20th March 2021, we hosted a free Virtual Charity Marathon Day. Our timetable was packed full of free live-online baby massage, baby reflexology and baby yoga sessions, with all donations from the day going to Mind.
Our classes were available to all via the Basking Babies UK Facebook page, with mums, dads, and grandparents from all over the UK joining in on the day from the comfort of their own homes. All we asked from anyone who joined us was a small donation to our Just Giving page, helping to raise vital funds for Mind.
The day began at 10am with hourly sessions throughout the day, including a tummy massage to relieve trapped wind and colic, a session just for dads, and a special bedtime massage at 7pm to round off the day.
It was a great success. Lots of parents tuned in throughout the day, some to more than one session, which was amazing. We raised an incredible £200 for Mind and we are all so grateful to everyone who donated to this worthy charity.
From all of us here at Basking Babies, thank you.
Written by Natalie, Basking Babies Colchester
