Celebrate the beauty of Spring and raise funds for children's mental health on #FloweryShirtDay

Celebrate the first day of Spring on #FloweryShirtDay by wearing a flowery shirt to your workplace or school and donating £2 to children’s health charity MedEquip4Kids. Your gift will help support young people's mental health through delivering the Hummingbird Project, a unique six-week course for schools which helps give young people the tools they need to be happier and more resilient.

The Vernal Equinox, which this year falls on 20 March, traditionally marks the beginning of the spring season. It’s when the trees grow new leaves, the first flowers come into bloom, and everything starts to look green and alive after the long darkness of winter. Just as plants need sunlight and water to grow, children need nurturing to be healthy and happy.

Based in Manchester, MedEquip4Kids improves children’s health by funding equipment not available from limited NHS resources. The charity believes every child deserves the best possible care, and that our minds are as important as our bodies. Last year MedEquip4Kids launched its new Hummingbird Project to help tackle the crisis in young people’s mental health.

Trained MedEquip4Kids staff and volunteers are going into schools to deliver a programme of six workshops, which teach students ways to improve their happiness and wellbeing. The course was developed in partnership with psychologists at the University of Bolton and includes topics around Mental Health and Stigma, Happiness and Wellbeing, Resilience and Character Strengths, Growth Mindsets, Hope and Gratitude, and Mindfulness.

The project was recently featured in the Bolton News: https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/17473145.teaching-children-happiness-with-medequip4kids-and-university-of-bolton/

The charity aims to raise £10,000 through #FloweryShirtDay, which will allow it to deliver the Hummingbird Project to 500 more children across four local schools.

Ghazala Baig, CEO of MedEquip4Kids, says: "So far we've had a fantastic response from teachers and students to our Hummingbird Project. We'd love local businesses and schools to get involved in #FloweryShirtDay to raise funds for this worthwhile project to benefit young people's mental health. It's really easy to take part - all you need to do is donate £2 (the cost of your morning coffee, for example), and celebrate the Spring Equinox by turning up in a floral shirt."

How to take part

Simply donate £2 and step out on 20th March in a flowery shirt of your choice. It could be anything from a Hawaiian shirt to a vintage rose print - as long as it’s floral, it’s good to go! You can donate your £2 as an individual or collect funds from your group and pay them in together to MedEquip4Kids at www.justgiving.com/campaigns-floweryshirtday. Then post a photo of you or your team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #FloweryShirtDay and tag in @MedEquip4Kids.

Don’t own a flowery shirt? Why not buy a second-hand one from a charity shop? Or if you’re feeling creative, customise an old shirt with badges, cut-outs from fabric pinned or stuck on, iron-on transfers, stencilling, felt tips or fabric paints.

For more information about MedEquip4Kids or the Hummingbird Project, please call 0161 798 1600 or visit www.medequip4kids.org.uk.