SYEDA IS 25 YEARS OLD

For 25 years SYEDA has been there for anyone who has been affected by an eating disorder in South Yorkshire. And (sadly) our services are still needed more today than ever.

Please help us be here for the next 25 years and ensure that no one in South Yorkshire or those affected by this mental health condition has to suffer alone.

To mark our 25th year we are raising vital funds to support our carers’ support service which relies on voluntary funding.
 
 

Fundraising is a wonderful way to get involved with SYEDA and to give back to your local community – affecting change and making a real difference to people’s lives. It is a rewarding experience for our fundraisers who make some amazing memories. If you would like to fundraise in your community for SYEDA, please get in touch on info@syeda.org.uk.

Do you want to help but you are stuck for what to do? View our Fundraising A-Z for ideas!

Jenny’s Story

Hello Jenny. Shall we start by you telling us a little about yourself?

My name is Jenny Longden. I am a mum to 3 beautiful daughters, now aged 27, 23 and 21. I work at Sheffield Children’s Hospital on Paediatric Intensive Care as an Advanced Nurse Practitioner. I have recently been appointed as Deputy Director of Nursing and I start my new post in August. I love running and yoga.

How did you discover SYEDA?

I was introduced to SYEDA through someone who had used the service for her own daughter, initially we had been under the care of community services and then she became an inpatient at Riverdale for several months. After being discharged from Riverdale, she became very unwell again and it was during this time that we attended SYEDA. As well as providing support for my daughter, I also found it invaluable. I remember feeling so isolated as a mum; I was a single parent working in Manchester at the time and it was a very tough time. Overall both of us had a very positive experience of SYEDA.

Why did you decide to fundraise for SYEDA?

Obviously SYEDA was a charity very close to my heart. It was by chance that I saw the advert about the London Marathon charity place, and I knew that it was something that I wanted to do. I’d always wanted to run the London Marathon and for me it was a perfect opportunity to do that whilst raising money for an amazing cause.

Tell us about your fundraising journey.

I loved my marathon journey. It taught me so much about myself and my own personal motivations. SYEDA organised the charity place and I set up my fundraising page as soon as I knew I had the place.

Initially fundraising was slow but as the date of the race approached it increased. I reached my target of £1000 before the big day and in total I raised £2000. My middle daughter organised a charity night at the tennis and squash club where she works which really helped too.

That’s amazing, well done! And the training itself must have been hard?

I had a training plan but because I was working shifts it was sometimes hard to stick to it. Some runs where tougher than others, but I remained focused on how my beautiful daughter had overcome such a debilitating illness and it really spurred me on during those tough runs. Running in the rain is exhilarating and I loved my snowy winter runs. The long runs always took a fair bit of planning in terms of routes, distance, fuelling for the run etc.

One pivotal moment which I remember was when one day I was running past my daughter’s school where she is a teacher. It was the week before Christmas, and she was walking with the school children to the local church. It felt really emotional as there was my amazing daughter and I felt so humbled to have this opportunity to run.

The day of the race was incredible. My daughter and her boyfriend came down to London with myself and my partner. They cheered me on at various points on the course and were there at the end. It was really emotional when I left them at the family point before the race, both myself and my daughter were crying. The atmosphere was amazing.

What an incredible and touching experience. Congratulations Jenny! Would you recommend fundraising for SYEDA to others?

I would definitely recommend fundraising for SYEDA. We see so much in the media about eating disorders and lack of resources and funding that it is a vitally important area to raise money for me. Personally, it felt as if I could give something back for the support, we both received. My youngest daughter is currently volunteering there. She found that as a sibling she had a lot of insight and felt she could help others too.

We’re pleased that you feel that you have given something back! Finally, do you have any advice for people out there who have or may be developing an eating disorder or who are supporting someone who does?

My advice would be to seek help early and to persevere if help and support isn’t readily available. It’s so hard as a parent, because instinctively we want to fix things for our children and make them better or get help for them. There’s no quick fix for eating disorders; it drags you to a dark place and often it feels as if there’s no way out. As a mum I blamed myself and I wish I’d sought help for myself earlier. Obviously our first priority is our child but it’s important that we look after ourselves. Now I’m hypervigilant with my daughter; I don’t if the eating disorder ever goes away completely but it’s something that’s always there.

Lynn's Story

"We lost a very special young lady and family member to anorexia and when it came to my attention that SYEDA were looking for new ways to raise much needed funds I felt I would like to help.

The thought of organising an event felt a bit daunting but when I asked friends, family and work colleagues what they thought to a disco to raise money there was so much encouragement and offers of help that it all became quite exiting. The disco quickly turned into a ceilidh as we felt it was more fun and inclusive and a pie and pea supper seemed the best food option as it took place last autumn.

We booked a hall that was big enough for the event and that would also do the catering, the hall was given free of charge. Once I had the cost of the hall, catering and the band which a friend had recommended I could price the tickets which was probably my biggest mistake as we only made £3 on each ticket, however I thought as long as people have a good time a small amount of money can be raised and also the awareness of the great work of SYEDA will be raised too.

I decided on a raffle to make a bit more money and a game where you have to roll a £1 coin at a whisky bottle, the nearest to the bottle wins and all the other coins go to SYEDA. Friends,family, local shopkeepers and businesses donated all the prizes which was amazing, not one negative response to my asking. Even more amazing was that on the night we made ......... And only £240 was made on ticket sales. 

Everyone had a great night and there's been lots of calls to make it an annual event. What I enjoyed the most was seeing how lovely people are, people want to help good causes they just sometimes need a way of doing it. I had a few worries along the way such as "would the band turn up"so I made lots of calls checking up on everyone but honestly no one minded and at the end of the day everything came together perfectly, I made lots of new friends, made some money for SYEDA and I loved it".