Peace in Mind Campaign

Esther teamed up with the Warrington Guardian, to run the Peace in Mind campaign. This campaign was launched at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, with the backing of the Warrington Wolves and the Warrington Wolves Foundation.

Since then, they have managed to raise almost £50,000 on the GoFundMe page. The money raised will send teachers in Warrington on mindfulness training. Through this training, they will gain valuable skills to help improve mental health and wellbeing; skills which they can pass onto their students.

We will not stop once we get to our goal of training teachers in Warrington schools. Our hope for the future is that every school in England has mindfulness embedded throughout the curriculum. When asked about the reason for the campaign, Esther said “There is and always has been such a focus on academic studies, but we are never taught how to take care of our mental health. It’s important that young people leave school with a range of skills that will support them throughout their adult life.”

Why mindfulness?
There is a wealth of scientific research that proves the benefits of mindfulness. So much so that the NHS and other reputable health services recommend it.

Well conducted mindfulness interventions can improve the mental, emotional, social and physical health and wellbeing of young people who take part. It has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and reactivity. Improve sleep and self-esteem, and bring about greater calmness, relaxation, the ability to manage behaviour and emotions, self-awareness and empathy.

Mindfulness can contribute directly to the development of cognitive and performance skills and executive function. It can help young people pay greater attention, be more focused, think in more innovative ways, use existing knowledge more effectively, improve working memory, and enhance planning, problem solving, and reasoning skills. (Katherine Weare, 2012)