Waccy Racers raise over £500 for charity

It wasn’t a ‘double drat’ for the ‘Waccy Racers’ from Walsall College’s Adult and Community Learning team. The ‘daredevil racers’ from the College’s Hawbush Campus raised over £500 for The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust when they ran 10 kilometres for The Black Country Run.

The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust trains professionals, such as teachers and doctors to spot signs of depression and other mental health issues to ensure young people get access to the support they need.

Training gives professionals the confidence to open a conversation and provide vital first-line support. The charity also delivers talks and training to young people about how they can stay mentally well.

The ‘Waccy Racers’ selected the charity as part of their sponsored Corporate Challenge Road Race, which was set up as a team building opportunity for local businesses.

Racers included Head of Cluster Liza-Jo Guyatt, Senior Curriculum Leader Ian Higgins, MIS Manager Garry Welborne, and tutors Vandana Sharma and Sunny Kaur.

Set up in 1997, the Trust was set up in memory of Charlie Waller, a young man who took his own life whilst suffering from depression. Shortly after his death, his family founded the Trust in order to educate young people on the importance of good mental health, and the tools to help them maintain it.

The Charlie Waller Trust will be running tutorials for all of the College learners at their Hawbush and Whitehall Campuses, and will also be supporting staff with mental health training.

Liza-Jo Guyatt, Head of Cluster for Adult and Community Learning, said: “As a College that values the wellbeing of both our staff and students, the Charlie Waller Memorial was a natural choice for The Black Country Run myself and my colleagues took part in.

This was a great opportunity to raise awareness of mental health, as well as to raise money for a very worthy cause.”

Walsall College’s Hawbush and Whitehall Campuses hold a wide range of courses for adult learners, including Construction, Health and Social Care, Beauty therapy, Business and Accounting, Catering and Hospitality, Horticulture, Teaching and Learning, Computing and ICT, Maths and English, Supported Learning, Childcare and ESOL and Languages.

For more information about enrolling on a course at Walsall College, please visit our Enrolment page.

Donations are still open for The Charlie Waller Trust. If you would like to donate, please visit the Waccy Racers’ Just Giving page.