Brought to you by Helplink Mental Health

An incredible achievement!

With all the doom and gloom in the news at the moment, some feel-good stories are well overdue. And if you want an example of our nation at its best, we've got some very good news for you... Helplink Mental Health have revealed that, in October 2021, people all across Ireland helped the organisation to raise over €100k for essential mental health services. Coldtober is a sea swimming fundraiser that took place for the first time nationally in October 2021, in aid of Helplink Mental Health. The fundraiser saw people all over the country take part in a 31-day sea swimming challenge in their local areas, to help raise funds for Helplink. This year, Coldtober went national for the first time, with an incredible 490 participants across Ireland taking part in over 20 locations across the country. And it's safe to say it was pretty successful! Coldtober raised a staggering €129,000 for the mental health charity. Helplink Mental Health provides accessible, free or low cost mental health services. Helplink's services run 7 days a week locally, nationally and internationally, and include out-of-hours services too. The money raised will go towards:

• Continuing Helplink Mental Health's free and low cost mental health services for children, young people and adults.
• Enhancing Helplink's mental health e-learning platform mindhacks.ie, which provides information and education services.
• Supporting the organisation in their plans to open a third office location in Athlone for people in Roscommon and the Midlands.

And with results like that, it probably comes as no surprise that the national fundraiser is now set to become an annual event, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for next year's Coldtober! For more information on Helplink's mental health services, visit helplink.ie. Brought to you by Helplink Mental Health