On Friday 9th December, the GAP team around the UK took part in our annual Christmas jumper day, with depots and departments nationwide sending photographs to the team at Head Office in Blackburn their best and most festive outfits.
Usually, depots and departments would send photographs of their best outfits for us to share to social media and online. However, this year we wanted to take a different approach and have joined up with mental health charity – Mind, in support of those who may be struggling at this time of year.
Mind provide free support, advice, and a wide range of services to those who are affected by mental health issues, which according to their website is more than you may think, as 1 in 4 in the UK people will experience an issue with their mental health every year.
Our Mental Health First Aid team proposed that anyone wearing a Christmas outfit this year and sent in their photograph agreed to a donation to be given from their salaries, alongside any contributions they would like to make voluntarily.
On top of this, we ran a company-wide competition where the best outfits were selected by our Mental Health First Aid team, and the chosen winners received a voucher for their efforts.
The team at Head Office in Blackburn also ran a separate raffle on our last week before the Christmas shutdown period, with all donations going to Mind too.
We are delighted to announce that in total we have managed to raise £1225 for Mind, with all donations made going directly to the charity.
Take a look at some of our best outfits from around the company, including our winning team – Gavin, Craig and Kieran, for their hilarious effort, who are all based at our depot in Gateshead (first image).
We would like to place our thanks on record to anyone who donated, and if you want to find out more information about Mind and the support they offer, you can follow this link here directly to their website.
