Words by Smiley Team
2020 hit people’s mental well-being hard, with Public Health England finding that psychological distress, anxiety and depressive symptoms worsened during the first national lockdown. To tackle this, former England rugby league captain Jamie Peacock (pictured) is drawing on his own experiences to run a well-being programme. It will help students working from home and raise funds for health and well-being causes.
The programme, Be A Champion, kicked off today with a free virtual wellbeing presentation delivered to 3,000 students, each of whom received a book about good well-being habits. The rugby star will run further sessions, once a month, during the lockdown to encourage good sleep, eating, exercise routines and positive mindsets.
Launching the programme, Peacock said: “Throughout my entire career I have faced adversity and encountered many challenges which have impacted my confidence and ability to perform at the highest level. I have had to constantly bounce back, build myself back up and come back stronger to achieve all the successes I have in my career.
“No matter what I knew I was able to accomplish on the field, it was only ever achievable through working on my overall well-being and looking after myself physically and mentally.
“In these challenging times I want to help everyone to turn their lives around and despite the many struggles we are facing, make small changes to positively impact on your life.”
£2 from every sale of the programme will be split across two charities he cares about deeply; the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MND) and Greenhouse Sports, an organisation improving the lives of vulnerable and deprived children through sport.
In October Peacock raised over £50,000 for MND by running an ultra marathon in support of his former teammate and close friend Rob Burrow who was tragically diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
To further Peacock’s cause and uplift young people through sport, you can help by donating to Greenhouse Sports via their website. £10 could buy new sports equipment, £50 could cover breakfast clubs and £150 could pay for the training of one of their sports coaches. You can also put your sports skills to use by volunteering with them.
Those keen to support MND can either make a donation, with the option of monthly or one-off contributions.
For more information about Be A Champion or to sign up visit the programme’s website.
