Team Ash Family Row have had a busy start to their World’s Toughest Row (Atlantic) campaign since launching on World Mental Health day last October. AMT employee Camilla (one of the four family members to row the Atlantic in December 2027) has reflected on what the team has achieved in that time:
“October through to May was focussed on fundraising for Suicide & Co and to buy Dolly Parton, our ocean rowing boat. We have been blown away by people’s support right from the start. With the generosity of friends, family, the general public and corporate sponsors, through fundraising events and direct donations, we have managed to smash our initial fundraising target of £350,000 and we’ve now increased it to half a million pounds. We are determined to hit that new target so that as many people as possible who have been bereaved by suicide can have access to the same counselling services we had when my dad died. On average in the UK 17 people die by suicide. The charity estimates that 15 people are affected by each death. That means that just over 93,000 people are bereaved by suicide each year. Last year the charity could only service 1,600. I hope that the money we raise can increase that number significantly.
In May this year we managed to get together enough funds to buy our boat and since then we have been training hard off the coast of Hartlepool in the North Sea (no doubt many colleagues have heard me complain about my weekends of sea sickness and overnight rowing!).
We would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support, including AMT who is one of our Silver Sponsors. Please follow us across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, Youtube and in the press, keep up to date with our news, training progress and upcoming fundraising events on our website (www.ashfamilyrow.com) and spread the word. Our campaign is about de-stigmatising suicide loss, opening up the conversation and supporting the vital work that Suicide & Co do for those bereaved by suicide. Please help us reach our goal.”
