Rap Interiors Walk the Miles for Mates in Mind this Christmas 2024

As another year approaches the finish line and Christmas is on the horizon, it’s time to get our fundraising hats on. In true Rap style we have chosen a charity that is particularly relevant to our industry to support this Christmas and raise some vital funds for an incredibly worthy cause, Mates in Mind.  The charity promote awareness and address mental health within the workplace, with a particular focus on the construction industry.  As a fit out and refurbishment contractor, the relevance to our industry meant the Rap team were very keen to play our part to raise as much money as we can for Mates in Mind.

What do Mates in Mind do?

Mates in Mind is a leading Charity that enables UK organisations, of any size, to improve and take proactive steps to raising mental health awareness and understanding across their teams. They bring industry insight, expertise, and a preventative approach around reducing the stigma and starting conversations about mental health across hundreds of workplaces. Importantly, their proactive approach enables individuals to understand how, when and where they can get support before they reach crisis point.

While poor mental health was having an undeniable impact across the construction sector, with suicide rates within the sector being 3.7 times higher than the national average, Mates In Mind have been focusing on this industry since 2017 to encourage change within the workplace around mental health. Through education and training, the charity are promoting awareness of mental health and well being within businesses and encouraging the necessary conversations to take place.

If the alarming statistic that you are almost 4 times more likely to take your own life if you are a male working in the construction industry isn’t enough, here are a few more stats to help understand the importance of what Mates in Mind do:

• A third of Construction Workers live with extreme levels of anxiety.
• 2 in 3 UK tradespeople have misused drugs and/or alcohol to mitigate symptoms of mental ill health.
• 3 out of 5 employees experience mental health issues because of work.

What’s the Plan?

It is well known that London is the construction epicentre of the UK, with thousands of workers making the commute each day. In the words of Atticus Finch “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

The Rap Interiors team will kick off their combined effort on December 10th and 12th, aiming to walk in the footsteps of people in the construction industry to aid the charity Mates in Mind. Our route will take us from our HQ in Kent to the heart of London and then back. The journey of 80 miles will take place on walking pads, with participants dressed in full PPE and overcoming additional challenges to reflect the mental struggles that some in the industry endure. Furthermore, with every pound donated, an 80mm screw will be included in our backpacks, and the weight will continue to grow as we confront this challenge.

Please donate and really make us earn it!

If you’d like to make this challenge as hard as possible for us, then please donate as much as you can and add more screws and tools to our load as we walk the 80 miles! Our target is £1,000 so please help us reach our target or even smash it! Your support can, and will, have an impact.

Please head to our JustGiving page to donate here.

Thank you for Your Support

Thank you in advance for any donations and support, it’s very much appreciated. Keep an eye out on our social media channels via the links at the bottom of the page, to see the latest updates on our fundraising efforts. Please share far and wide and help us make a difference to improve mental health in the construction industry.