Walking With The Wounded - Blue Monday Mental Health

We are proud supporters of Walking With The Wounded (WWTW), a leading military charity which has been changing lives and helping those who have served since 2010.

The WWTW team carries out vital work across the UK to support those struggling to settle back into society. This could be simply due to missing the wrap-around support network they were previously part of,  or perhaps due to hidden mental or more visible physical wounds from their time serving.

At Sunbelt Rentals we recognise the challenging path ex-service personnel may face and are absolutely committed to supporting veterans in their new lives via our international Veterans 4Rs Programme. Our aim is to provide appropriate Resources, Recruitment, Recognition and Retention support to help people from all areas of the Defence Community thrive in their new careers.

Customer Name
Walking With The Wounded
Project and Location
Walking Home For Christmas Campaign, Manchester
Sector
Social Impact
Duration
One day

Challenge

Walking With The Wounded’s ‘Walking Home For Christmas’ Campaign occurred on Blue Monday, the 17th January 2022. This was a deliberate decision to tie in with the day where many people reportedly struggle with depression, when the ‘post-holiday season blues’ (and bills) are reported to hit home.

We wanted to raise awareness of the mental health challenges that many veterans face, and fundraise money to pay for vital and potentially life-saving mental health therapy sessions. Walking With The Wounded’s team do a phenomenal job in conjunction with the NHS to support veterans in living with and overcoming Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI).

We also wanted to support our strategic partner and pay our respects to those who served and lost their lives defending our freedoms.

Solution

This poignant event saw Sunbelt Rentals and Walking With The Wounded veterans walking with supporters from the NHS, Greater Manchester Police and Mitie. We left the Veterans hub in Canada Street together to walk to the Cenotaph at St Peters Square in the City Centre of Manchester. It was a very cold evening, and each of us held a cross with a remembrance poppy in front of us, to remind us all and those who saw us as to the reason we were taking part.

The Cenotaph is located right in the middle of St Peter’s Square near a key Metrolink station, and so many commuters and city centre workers saw our arrival and acts of remembrance, laying the poppy crosses together on the stone steps.

Results

The Sunbelt team was proud to raise £1,500, which provided over 18 mental health therapy sessions for local veterans.

In total, the event raised £3,242, which means WWTW can provide over 40 mental health therapy sessions. This will make a huge difference not only to the veterans themselves, but also their families in the coming months and years.

Mick Ledden, Director of Operational Excellence at Sunbelt Rentals is ex-Royal Navy and Sunbelt Rentals Executive Sponsor for our UK Veterans Programme. He took part in the walk and said: “It was an inspiring day, and a joy to spend time with the Walking With The Wounded team. We had some fantastic insight to the impact they have made locally and nationally through their incredible programmes, such as the OP-REGEN tree planting programme that we are proud to support. I am incredibly proud of our relationship, and we will continue to work with the team to develop this further in the future.”

Joel Oxberry, Director of Income, Walking with the Wounded said “Blue Monday was a fitting day to conduct our challenge, raising awareness and encouraging conversation around Mental Health. What impressed me most about the team from Sunbelt was their passion to understand more about the services Walking With The Wounded provide to those veterans who find themselves in a tough spot. More than just fundraising, the team has a deep commitment to our charity and to supporting our mission. All of our staff, especially our front-line workers are proud to call Sunbelt our strategic partners.”