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ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE
Focus on Restore
Charity of the Year
easier as you do them. I think Restore
offers you the opportunity to challenge
yourself, but also to be yourself as well.
Tomorrow I’m shadowing a person
at Hunts in Kidlington - they’re a printing
company. I’ll be learning new skills with
a computer and I’ll hopefully be able to
reproduce those skills with Restore when
I come back and teach other people what
I’m doing so that’ll be really nice. So again,
it’s moving forward which is really good.
Is there anything you’d like to
say those who have donated and
fundraised for Restore?
Without the money it wouldn’t happen.
It’s very important that it’s donated. I can
say that the money’s helped me a lot. All
the activities and all the challenges are just
great and it’s a nice place to be. Thank you
very much for donating! It’s been really
worthwhile coming to Restore. I’ve got a
lot from it and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Restore is an Oxfordshire-based charity supporting people with
mental health issues. Working hard to help people recover and
find work, the charity provides a range of support services
including coaching, recovery groups and training. Our enterprising
pupils have already raised a staggering £24,000 for the cause.
Below, we find out more from Chief Executive Martin Realey,
and service users Gary and Heather.
Gary
:
A member of Restore’s recovery
group in Littlemore, Gary tells us about
his experience at the charity, and how
the money is making a difference.
Tell us about your time at Restore
I suffer from anxiety and I’m using the
recovery group to get back to work. It’s
very important that I keep on moving
in an upward direction. It’s building my
confidence all the time, that’s the most
important part of it - it’s really good!
How does it help you?
It’s growing the confidence that you need
to approach the outside world. There
are things I do now that if I hadn’t come
to Restore I would never have done. I’m
working on a computer which I’m not
trained in, but I’m learning as I go along.
I’m picking up life skills that I can take out
into the outside world.
Restore gives you confidence. People
around me encourage me to try new
things. And the challenges become a lot
Gary working in the coffee shop at Restore
Paul
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