On Saturday 20th October, a charity night was held in memory of John Ainslie, who sadly took his own life in December 2017. Soon after the tragedy of John’s death, the family quickly realised there was very limited support for families bereaved by suicide. They also found there was a stigma associated with suicide and mental health and they wanted to help to break that barrier.
The family were lucky enough to be put into contact with a charity named ‘If U Care Share Foundation’ which is a local charity based in Chester Le Street, County Durham. The three key aims of the charity are suicide prevention, intervention and bereavement support. The charity also travel up and down the country talking and holding workshops in schools and football clubs about mental health. In addition to this the charity offer emotional and practical support, counselling and aromatherapy to those bereaved by suicide.
Due to the amount of support received from the charity over the last ten months, Bev, Laura and Ellie Ainslie decided to hold a charity event in John’s memory to raise funds and awareness for ‘If U Care Share’. The night was a huge success and a grand total of £2,744.19 was raised. The Ainslie family are extremely grateful and would like to thank their family, friends and the kind generosity of businesses who donated prizes. A special thank you to Woodham Golf and Country Club for hosting the event and to Barclays Bank for their extremely generous donation.