MONEY raised at a fundraising dinner attended by 2003 England World Cup Ben Cohen will be used to train mental health leads at Jersey Rugby Club.
The event, which raised £67,000 through ticket sales, a raffle and auction and a generous donation from an anonymous benefactor, was organised by Titan Wealth and LooseHeadz, the mental health charity aiming to place a mental health lead in every rugby club in the world, through LooseHeadz ambassador and former Jersey Reds player Guy Thompson.
“This was our first event in Jersey but it was a huge success. Ben was brutally honest about the highs and lows of a professional career and then retirement. Events like this are vital to our mission of saving lives by placing a mental health lead at every rugby club in the world. They help us raise both awareness and essential funds, and equally, they allow us to build deeper connections with local rugby communities like Jersey. Events like these bring our message to life and allow us to show how mental health can become a fundamental part of every club’s culture,” said LooseHeadz founder Rob Shotton.
“Our visit to Jersey was just the start of our partnership with Jersey RFC. Over the off-season, we’ll be working closely with Guy Thompson and the club’s dedicated mental health leads. We'll provide them with a full toolkit of resources so they're ready to go by the start of the new season. Jersey RFC will have trained individuals around the club – people who know how to spot when a teammate might be struggling and who can step in or signpost them to support.”
LooseHeadz has put together a new strategy around three steps – Connect, Deliver and Support. Connect includes a virtual community hub to bring mental health leads together online, Deliver covers a rugby-specific mental health training programme and Support is a service that rapid, potentially life-saving help for those most in need.
“This is the first mental health solution of its kind in grassroots sport anywhere in the world – and Jersey is now a part of that journey,” said Rob.
Kevin Boscher, head of Titan Wealth in Jersey said bringing together the company’s partnerships with LooseHeadz and the 2003 England World Cup team was a great way of introducing the Titan Wealth brand to the Jersey community.
“Hearing first hand from Ben about the pressures of being a professional athlete and then the challenge of no longer having a playing career showed how important it is that rugby clubs, from grassroots through to professionals, talk about mental health, know how to recognise the signs and provide the support needed. LooseHeadz is already working with more than 1,000 clubs across 20 different countries and so Titan Wealth is delighted to play in ensuring that Jersey is now part of that. We look forward to hearing more as the partnership develops and welcoming LooseHeadz back to the Channel Islands in the future.”
