St Neots entrepreneur Alex Hughes, founder of Shifties, a free networking hub for small business owners, hosted a 24-hour Speak Up Liveathon event on Monday 18th January – known as the most depressing day of the year (Blue Monday) – to support small business owners and entrepreneurs whilst raising money to support our work at CPSL Mind.

Throughout the 24 hours, Alex interviewed a variety of business owners, mental health professionals and people from the local community. They all shared their stories about how the pandemic has affected their mental health and what they have done to improve their wellbeing.

The event was full of positivity, keeping viewers tuned in with stories of resilience and what people are looking forward to once the lockdown is over.

Local businesses donated prizes – which included a spa break, luxury glamping, a boat ride and much more – and people were encouraged to make a donation in order to be entered into the prize draw. More than £5,000 was raised in total.

Alex said: “The event exceeded every expectation. I have been completely blown away both by the openness of our incredible speakers and the support from the Shifties community, many of whom stuck with me throughout the 24 hours. It is clear from all the comments and engagement we got that this discussion has really resonated with many and I hope it has encouraged more people to speak up and seek help”.

Aly Anderson, our CEO, said: “I was delighted to be involved in the Shifties Speak Up event. It provided a fantastic platform for positivity and resilience during challenging times, creating opportunities to give to others by sharing stories, experiences and wellbeing tips. The Covid-19 experience has been an emotional rollercoaster but sharing your feelings during such times really helps”.

“We are extremely grateful to Shifties for creating the opportunity to help raise funds for our charity, to support a range of services across our communities, including out of hours mental health crisis support, community wellbeing activities, peer support, campaigns and training.”