York businesses to host charity Sports Day in support of mental health charities

Organised by Aviva, the event involves eight local businesses. The York Wellbeing Sports Tournament aims to raise £10,000 for local mental health charities, Kyra Women’s Project (Kyra) and Menfulness. The event will be held on Friday 14th June at York University Sports Centre.

Aviva has teamed up with York businesses to host a charity sports day in aid of local mental health charities. The event will bring York employees together to promote physical and mental wellbeing, while raising much-needed funds for valuable charities in the City. Local organisations involved in the day include Beneden Health, Hiscox, York College, York University and York St John, Portakabin and Paragon.

Being held at York University Sports Centre, the event will see 24 teams come together for a fun-packed day of 7-a side football and netball. Friends and family are welcome to cheer on the teams and there will be something for all ages, with local charity stalls, children’s activities and food vendors for essential ice creams!

Community impact

The tournament organisers hope to reach a £10,000 fundraising target for the day – and Aviva will match the fundraising total pound for pound.

The beneficiary charities, involved in the day’s activities, are Kyra – a local charity run by women, for women, to improve wellbeing and self-esteem and Menfulness, who bring men together to offer support and break the stigma of talking about mental health.

The proceeds of the day will provide much-needed funding. £160 will fund a 6-session counselling course with Menfulness and £500 will fund 10 sessions of specialist counselling with Kyra.

Oliver Thomson of Aviva who has helped co-ordinate the event said: “We recognise that anyone can go through low spells with their mental health at some point. At Aviva, we’re committed to starting a conversation and helping to normalise talking about mental health.

“The York Wellbeing Charity Sports Tournament is one of the ways we’re giving back to local organisations who focus tirelessly on supporting the mental health of communities in York, so they can continue their brilliant and much-needed work.”

Matty Lewis from Menfulness said: “We want to extend our thanks to Aviva for their support, choosing Menfulness alongside another incredible charity, Kyra, to fundraise for. Our purpose is to break the stigma behind men's mental health, so the priority is to raise awareness in the hope that men who are suffering know there is a safe space for them. The funds raised on the day will help us future-proof our counselling services and save many more lives in the process.”

Dr Ira Laketic-Ljubojevic, CEO at Kyra said: “We’re delighted to team up with local York employers who, like us, believe in the importance of ensuring that women in York feel they have a safe and welcoming space. The money raised through this tournament will help us continue to provide counselling, training and mental health support for women seeking to make positive changes in their lives.”

This follows on from a successful sports fundraising tournament last year and Aviva now hope this will be an annual event to raise awareness and encourage conversations about mental health.

Registration for the event begins at 9am on Friday, 14th June at York University Sports Centre and the event will finish at 5pm.

Local business or organisations who wish to get involved in the day, either through entering a team, or hosting a stall, should contact charitysportstournament@aviva.com.

Members of the public can simply turn up and support on the day or if they’d like to donate to the Tournament they can here.