Hilton of Cadboll teacher's fundraising challenge for Mikeysline mental health charity will have its ups and down
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A ROSS-SHIRE primary school teacher has taken on a mountain of a challenge to raise funds for a pioneering mental health charity.
Catriona MacRae is set to climb the stairs at her Tain home 65 times each day throughout June – notching up the equivalent height of Mount Kilimanjaro – in aid of Mikeysline which has seen a sharp rise in the number of people contacting them with suicidal thoughts during the coronavirus lockdown.
The 24-year-old, who teaches at Hilton of Cadboll Primary School, has already raised about £700 having initially set a target of £100.
"I know that due to the Covid-19 situation a lot of people may be isolated or finding it difficult not having as much social interaction."
"I am always encouraging the children in my class to challenge themselves both academically and physically so I thought I’d take a leaf out of my own book," she said.
"We had a health and wellbeing week and I thought it was the perfect opportunity for me to set my own challenge that encompassed the ideas we were encouraging the children to focus on.
"I had seen others across the country raising fantastic amounts for charities and wanted to do the same for a local charity.
"I picked Mount Kilimanjaro as it is well known as being a difficult and very large climb to the summit."
Miss MacRae calculated she would need to climb 38,680 steps overall which worked out as 64.5 flights each day for 30 days.
"Being able to fundraise as part of this challenge gives it much more meaning and purpose," she said.
"I wanted to pick a local charity that supported mental health as this is something that is close to my heart.
"I know that due to the Covid-19 situation a lot of people may be isolated or finding it difficult not having as much social interaction.
"It is important now more than ever that support systems like Mikeysline are well supported and able to continue providing support to those who may be struggling.
Mental health is so important, especially in young people, and if I thought that even if I can do a little to help it is better than nothing."
Mikeysline, set up in 2015 to try and tackle high suicide rates in the Highlands, provides a text-for-help hotline service for people experiencing thoughts of depression, anxiety, worry or stress.
It also runs the Hive Project – a mental health crisis centre in Academy Street, Inverness – which it has had to close due to social distancing rules as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
It has set up an additional callback service through Facebook Messenger.
Its team of five support staff and 20 volunteers is working from home to deal with an increased volume of calls and texts.
Miss MacRae has set up a fundraising page on Justgiving for anyone wishing to donate. It can be found here.
