Message from the Chair
NOVEMBER 2024
This month we have been very busy recruiting new Regional Coordinators. We set an objective by the end of 2024 to have 20 RC’s in place ready for 2025 and it looks like we will reach this target. But what is a Regional Coordinator – and what difference do they make?
An RC is a volunteer who takes a county region and starts to build local activity with the mental health first-aiders we have trained and other volunteers, they are building a localised team that can go out and respond to biking events and activities in that region. It means we can be more relevant and active and therefore offer more support to our awesome motorbike Community. They are the next level down from the charity board of trustees and therefore are given lots of responsibility to develop new initiatives and activities on our behalf.
All Regional Coordinator’s have to go through an interview process, a police check and they then go through an induction process to understand how the charity works and the policies and procedures they must follow. Normally a Regional Coordinator will have a little bit more time on their hands to develop strategically Mental Health Motorbike initiatives in their area. It is a very exciting role and one that’s making a huge difference on the support that we’re offering and events that we do.
Do you think you’ve got some time to become a Regional Coordinator (this is a voluntary role) if so visit www.mhmotorbike.com/vacancies for more information.
Watch this space for new developments across the country as this new team of people get active!
Paul ‘Oxo’
OCTOBER 2024
It has been one of the most exciting years in the history and growth of Mental Health Motorbike.
As you may be aware we set ourselves four core objectives this year
- To train 1000 people in mental health first aid
- To attend 200 events nationwide
- To bring some financial security to the charity
- To grow the team at all levels of the charity
I can say on all counts here we are hitting these targets. This year was all about consolidating the learning of the last four years and building a vision for the future. This summer the board of trustees met and created the vision document. This will now help us apply for funding to put the charity on a much stronger footing. That’s no doubt we are now in a stronger position to move forward.
So what does it take to achieve this? In truth a lot of blood sweat and tears. We have a team of volunteers that give huge amount, I feel very humbled and privileged at times to be surrounded awesome bunch of individuals.
As we head for 2025 the charity will grow. We need our mental health first aiders to get involved and use this qualification to make a difference to what is an incredible family – the motorbike community.
In returned we will try very hard to engage the industry in allowing your contributions to not only flourish and make a difference but also be there supporting you on a very meaningful level.
If you thought about getting involved please do. We’re working hard harder than ever to make sure that volunteers are looked after and have an opportunity for their voice to be heard. Again we’ve learned a lot of lessons over the last four years.
There is no better time to volunteer with the charity so watch out for all the different opportunities and getting involved – see you soon!
Paul ‘Oxo’