November 25th 2016
Annual Sporting Lunch at the RAC raises £8,500 for YoungMinds
Moulsford’s Annual Sporting Lunch was held at the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) on Pall Mall in London last Friday, with capacity attendance of 160. It was fantastic to see so many Moulsford Dads from across the whole school, including a strong Pre-Prep representation, as well as fathers of former pupils. Former England rugby players David Flatman and Andy Goode, who also played for Bath and Leicester/Newcastle respectively, entertained guests sharing many humorous anecdotes from their professional rugby-playing careers.
As well as being a social event, the RAC lunch provides an opportunity to fundraise. Flats ran an auction of varied and unique lots from a cricket bat signed by the recent squad of the 2016 county champions, Middlesex, to a rugby coaching session for six lucky children with Paul Grayson (ex England and Northampton). There was also an extremely testing quiz, which certainly sorted the true rugby fanatics from those just along for the lunch!
The charity chosen to benefit from this year’s fundraising was national charity YoungMinds, which is committed to improving the emotional wellbeing, resilience, and mental health of children and young people throughout the UK. Diane Gault, Director of Fundraising at YoungMinds, thanked guests for their generous financial support, and Moulsford for helping to raise awareness of an issue that is becoming increasingly prevalent. Diane shared the startling fact that 50% of all mental health problems manifest before the age of 14, with 1 in 10 young people suffering from a diagnosable mental health disorder. YoungMinds provides support for parents, training for professionals and a range of opportunities for young people to improve services and campaign for change.
Huge thanks go to all those involved in the organisation, to those who supported by attending the event, and to the generous donors of the auction lots.
Donations to YoungMinds can be made via their website https://www.youngminds.org.uk/donate
