Swansgate Shopping Centre awarded a special Coronation donation to Kelly’s Heroes as part of their Good Deeds Campaign.
The centre team met with one of Kelly’s Heroes earlier in the year, following the meeting they immediately knew that they wanted to show their support. Kelly’s Heroes (formally ‘We Mind and Kelly Matters’) was set up in 2019 after the devastating loss of Kelly Hewitt, who tragically ended her life at just 24 years of age. Within weeks of her passing the family named their charity ‘We Mind & Kelly Matters,’ emerging from their immense grief, shock, and anger that ‘Kelly mattered’. Following the charity set up, numerous fundraising events began, and the band of resolute fundraisers and followers were aptly named Kelly’s Heroes.
The two largest events consisted of cycle rides from John O’Groats to Lands’ End in 2020, and again The Loneliest Road Cycle Tour across Europe, and New York to San Francisco in 2022. Teams of cyclists rode as Kelly’s Heroes, who not only raised in excess of £300k, created enormous awareness for mental health whilst breaking down stigma around suicide.
John Hewitt, Kelly’s dad, and co-founder of the charity explained:
‘The renaming marks an exciting new chapter for the charity. Having organised the Kelly’s Heroes cycle rides, I’ve trained and ridden with those heroes and the charity evolved, developing expertise and forming its own identity, growing from a foundation of pure grief to a place of hope. The family and also the cyclists have met with some of the recipients of where the funding goes, people who have used the support, accessed bereavement workshops and more, and it quickly became clear to us, that they are all heroes, each and every one of them. We will always want Kelly’s name to be remembered and we think the new name is a fitting tribute to her memory and the tireless work put in by our staff and supporters over the last 4 years’.
Kelly’s Heroes hopes to continue breaking down barriers and open up more conversations around the importance of not only managing your mental health but maintaining and promoting good positive wellbeing.
Fiona Stevens, Marketing Coordinator at Swansgate Shopping Centre explained: “The community is at the heart of everything we do at Swansgate. We love working with local charities and community groups, whether that is hosting them in the centre, helping to provide a space and promoting their fundraising events or providing a donation through our Good Deeds Campaign.” She explains “It is so important to give back to the local community. We knew we wanted to support Kelly’s Heroes and give them a special donation to aid the incredible work they are doing. We met with Katie during Mental Health Awareness week, speaking about the support the charity provides to people effected by suicide really highlights just how important it is to be raising awareness”.
For more information about the charity and for details on how you can support Kelly’s Heroes please visit their website – https://www.kellys-heroes.co.uk/