Improving mental health awareness

Shawmind is a charity on a mission to improve mental health awareness. We are committed to educating individuals and organisations so they understand mental health & emotional wellbeing, and how to manage them effectively to lead successful, fulfilled lives.

In 2017 we raised 103,000 signatures during our Headucation campaign for a parliamentary debate which led to compulsory mental health education in schools. This hugely successful campaign firmly established Shawmind as a champion of mental health in the UK, despite being a fledgling charity.

Following on from our 2017 Headucation campaign, we now focus our energy on improving children’s mental health by ensuring their teachers are equipped to understand mental health and support their pupils more effectively to deal with it.

Headucation: With Headucation 2025 we are mobilizing corporate sponsors and individuals to help us bring about a transformation in the mental health of the next generation: working with local educational authorities and partner organisations we are bringing a whole-school approach to mental health, helping schools to develop a culture shift towards sustainable better mental health and wellbeing – free of charge to the schools.

Training: We have a range of mental health training options to support individuals and organisations. We have both online and in-person courses to suit requirements. Courses vary from one hour to six weeks depending on content and several of our courses are being CPD-accredited. Proceeds from all of our training programmes directly fund our Headucation 2025 campaign.

The Breathe Project: The Breathe Project provides a range of mental health resources:

• Breathe Cafés are spaces for real conversations. They offer resources on mental health and wellbeing, signposting to mental health services and provide access to our network of volunteers who are there to listen.
• Breathe: ManCave is a monthly get-together for men, a time and place for men to speak about their mental health, their challenges, to listen to experts and to share with other men their coping strategies.
• Breathe Guides are our range of mental health guides, free to download.

Our Board of Trustees is responsible for our governance and strategic direction. Chaired by Shawmind’s Founder, Adam Shaw, our Board is accountable for everything we do, including setting our strategic direction, scrutinising our performance and supporting and empowering our team on the ground. Adam created the Shawmind charity with the heartfelt intent of making a difference to people dealing with anxiety, having himself suffered with anxiety and OCD.

We are a registered charity in England (1167947), and a registered charitable company without share capital (09921207) in the UK. Shawmind is also registered with the Fundraising Regulator, demonstrating our commitment to good fundraising practice. We are committed to following the Code of Fundraising Practice and the Fundraising Promise. We are an independent charity, not affiliated to any other charitable organisation. View our page on the Charities Commission website.

Shawmind relies on donations from generous individuals and organisations to support our work. We’d like to thank our donors below, as well as those who wish to remain anonymous, for their generosity and their role in improving mental health awareness.