Sponsored walk from London to Brighton: our first fundraising event

Anisha Vidal-Garner, the inspiration for Talk2Nish, loved going to Brighton and walking along the beachfront so we are doing a sponsored walk from London to Brighton to raise funds for training more mental health peer mentors in schools.

Mandy [Anisha's mum] and Anisha's sisters, Maia and Leila, will be joined en route by friends and family. The walk will take four days and begins at Anisha's student accommodation in London Bridge.

We're not experienced walkers, but we know how to follow a map and we've grown very accustomed over the last few years to just putting one foot in front of the other.

In addition to raising money and seeing a bit of the countryside the walk will give us an opportunity to slow down time a little and talk. Last year Mandy and her daughter Maia did part of the Camino from Santiago de Compostela to Finisterre [the end of the world] in Spain. It was a beautiful walk and Maia was very pleased to see a vegan cafe at the end because she had been existing on cans of lentils along the four-day route. This time round we hope to come better equipped!

The London to Brighton walk will start on 30th August at the end of the school holidays. We will be taking lots of photos for social media and will have a tracking app [promoted on the website] so people who want to join the walk at any stage can come along.

Talk2Nish Peer Mentors trains school students to be mental health peer mentors so they can help their fellow students to feel heard. The aim is to educate the whole school about mental health as well as to help individuals who are struggling and may feel anxious about speaking to authority figures.

Anisha was a hugely empathetic person, who listened to and encouraged her friends and family, but also, like many young people, needed support herself. Talk2Nish knows the extent of the mental health challenges facing young people, but also knows that they are already on the frontline of dealing with it - as friends. We want to help schools to empower, recognise and support them to really make a difference.

If you would like to donate to the fundraising campaign go to our Just Giving page by clicking here or going to https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/talk2nishwalk.