A group of colleagues from Royal Primary Care will bring their annual charity fundraising tradition to the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge in September, this time in aid of men’s mental health.
Marking this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (12 to 18 May 2025), we’re placing the spotlight on a group of clinical and clerical colleagues from across RPC who will be taking part in the 24-mile trek, which journeys across the peaks of Pen-y-Ghent, Whernside and Ingleborough, crossing between the Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
The RPC group – nicknamed ‘Just Here For The Cake’ – will be raising vital funds for men’s suicide prevention charity ANDYSMANCLUB, which runs talking groups in Chesterfield and Clay Cross.
In the team taking on the challenge are GPs Dr Ruth Bentley and Dr Kate Stonier, practice nurses Michelle Franklin and Stefani Hawkins, and admin team member Julie Cousins, who together hope to raise awareness of the increasing urgency for mental health support for men in Derbyshire.
“At Royal Primary Care we see a lot of men come through our doors with mental health issues,” said Dr Ruth Bentley, a General Practitioner at RPC East and member of the fundraising group, “We know that they have difficulty accessing traditional therapies, which is why initiatives like ANDYSMANCLUB are so vital to our communities.”
Their fundraising tradition began back in 2021, when they held what became an annual trek visiting every RPC site, with a different charity benefiting every year.
The group have since taken their muddy boots to the Lake District in 2024, with the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge now firmly in their sights – all in the name of men’s mental health as they target £1,000 raised.
You can donate to Just Here For The Cake’s JustGiving page online.
With ‘community’ the key theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (12-18 May), clinicians at RPC have stressed the importance of good social connections and services offered by charities like ANDYSMANCLUB.
In 2023, there were 17.4 suicides for every 100,000 men in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics).
“It’s incredibly important that we encourage men to open up about their problems, big or small,” said trainee ANP Michelle Franklin, “Life can become much easier when you have peers to support you through rough patches, and we chose to raise money for ANDYSMANCLUB because it gives men a safe space to talk in an environment close to them with no judgement or formality with others. We feel it is a charity that has a great impact on our patients.
“We’ll be planning fundraising opportunities for the build-up to our hike, and we’ll be incredibly appreciative of any support we receive from our community for a great cause.”
ANDYSMANCLUB is a peer-led charity and has two branches based in the Chesterfield area: at the SMH Group Stadium in Chesterfield and at Tower Business Park in Clay Cross.
The charity’s mission is to prevent families from suffering the grief and heartache caused by suicide, by encouraging men to speak with peers about their issues using their weekly Monday night groups.
You can find your local branch on the charity website.
If you need support, you can ring the Derbyshire Mental Health Support Line on 0800 028 0077, or alternatively find out about the mental health services we provide.