Bellway has made a donation to help fund a club in Colchester which encourages men to talk about their mental health.
The company, which is building new homes at its Hollytree Walk and Aspen Walk developments in the city, has contributed £500 to Talk Club Colchester.
The men’s mental health charity has up to 10 members in Colchester and meets fortnightly on Tuesdays between 7 and 9pm in the back room of the Odd One Out pub in Mersea Road. It’s one of 80 Talk Clubs around the UK.
The Bellway Essex donation will go towards covering the running costs of Talk Club Colchester and the printing of leaflets to promote the group.
Steve Barnard, Community Manager at Talk Club Colchester, said: “The Talk Club has grown into a force for good. The organisation now runs over 80 clubs around the UK and over 3,000 men in its community. We offer talk and listening groups, talk and exercise groups and Talk Club Therapy.
“The kind and generous donation from Bellway will enable men in Colchester and surrounding areas to come to a safe, confidential place, without judgment, for free.”
Jenny Walker, Sales Director at Bellway Essex, said: “Mental health support is a key priority for us at Bellway and is something we’ve directly targeted as part of our aim to be an Employer of Choice.
“As a company nationwide, we’ve set a target of one in ten employees being mental health first-aiders and one in five employees receiving mental health awareness training by this summer and we are always encouraging any staff members male or female that are thinking of taking the training to do so.
“As part of our support for the community in Colchester, we were therefore keen to support a charity which focuses on mental health in the area – so when we heard about the work being done by Talk Club Colchester we were more than happy to reach out and make a donation.
“We hope that our contribution can help the club continue to provide its invaluable service which allows men in the Colchester area to have a safe space where they know they can go and really open up and not be judged.”
For more information about Talk Club Colchester go to https://talkclub.org/event/talk-club-colchester-mens-talking-group-2/.
