Wellbeing groups for those in need

Aim

Our aim is to build free community groups for learning basic self-empowering wellbeing tools, aimed at those who need it most.

Reiki, yoga, meditation, energy healing, mindfulness are all big buzz words these days, and rightly so. There is a growing body of scientific evidence that these holistic methods work wonders on our mental health, sense of wellbeing, and feelings of happiness.

While there are hundreds of different resources open to those of us who can afford it, or who run in 'alternative' circles, when we get out into the wider world, the benefits of self-help, and simple tools for managing anxiety, stress and depression are just not known. We would love to change that.

Mental health struggles, social isolation and disconnection are growing societal ills that are being exacerbated by the breakdown in family and community structures, technology and economic pressures. We want to put in place an opportunity for people in need to meet, empower themselves, build community and connection.

Our Mission

To promote personal wellbeing via self-help groups.

• By encouraging the deep dive inward through the use of energy healing, breathing, movement and mindfulness
• By gathering in groups to learn, support and encourage each other
• By being inclusive, open to all, free, non-prescriptive and non-judgemental.

What we want to achieve

1.    To teach people a simple series of self help skills to help them find their inner stability and sense of wellbeing. Specifically people who would not normally have the opportunity to learn these skills.

2.    To build local and specialised communities for support, learning and friendship around the theme of wellbeing. Local geographical locations for gathering such as community centres and village halls. Specialised groups for support such as cancer outpatients, hospices, youth centres, specific disabilities.

3.    To encourage giving back through the training of volunteers to set up their own community groups. Encouraging those who benefit from participation to in turn set up their own group. To raise the self-esteem and confidence of volunteer facilitators.

4.    To measure and research outcomes and feedback to continuously improve the offering for the benefit of the communities involved. To use evidence-based and already established measurement scales. To publish our findings to encourage dialogue and collaboration.

Who are we?

We are a small team passionate about personal growth, self-empowerment and holistic health. We have all benefited over the years from amazing tools like Reiki, yoga, meditation, energy healing, talk therapies and we are also all teachers in various of these modalities. We were brought together by a desire to extend these resources to those in need.

Between us we have decades of experience running groups and communities, teaching wellbeing tools, and a wealth of business, social work and research skills to pool together. We intend to work collaboratively with charities, community working groups, and businesses who already do great work within communities. By co-creating projects we will achieve so much more.

Please see the team details here: https://www.wellbeingwithincic.org/who-we-are

Why a CIC?

By setting up a CIC, community interest company, we are guaranteeing that this is a not for profit undertaking. All the money we raise, earn and invest will be used solely for building communities, training volunteers, and expanding our vision. 

A CIC differs from a charity in that we can also make money like a normal company, this gives us more flexibility and means we don't have to rely solely on donations and funding grants. But unlike a normal company, our focus is on our community centred vision, and not on shareholder profit.

What will the funds be used for?

Thanks to our amazing supporters, we have raised money for piloting our first groups and setting up an evidence based measurement for research. We want to make sure we build a strong foundation and set in place something that is both measurable and scalable. 

The groups will start running in the Portsmouth area from February 2023, taking advantage of local community centres, and other charity spaces. Sessions will run for 6-8 weeks, paired with feedback and we will trial adhoc one-session events to build awareness.

Our first one is with Portsmouth Carers Centre.

Funds will be used for the initial set-up of the program, to pay for facilitation, rental of community centres, admin and marketing, the research findings and reporting. 

From here we will be in a great position to expand into more groups as well as develop a pool of dedicated volunteer facilitators.

We have big goals and we see huge potential, not only in the UK but also globally. If you are inspired by what we want to achieve please help us, no donation is too small. Giving us your support is not only financial, you also add your energy and intention to this movement. Building self-empowered community is really the whole point of this; building support through community to support others.

Sharing our crowdfunder on your social media pages will also be a great help. There are links below!

There are some great ways to get involved too. Volunteer to set up your own group and get trained up by us. Put us in touch with friends or colleagues who you think would be a great group leader, or collaborator. 

If you are an organisation looking for wellbeing retreats, employee sessions either online or face to face we would love to chat. Every workshop or session you commission funds us for more groups we can set up in high need communities.

References

We reference a few studies in the video:

1.Complementary medicine use, views and experiences – a national survey in England. Deborah Sharp, Ava Lorenc, Richard Morris, Gene Feder, Paul Little, Sandra Hollinghurst, Stewart Mercer and Hugh MacPherson. (2018) Published in BJGP Open.

2. All The Lonely People. (2018) Age UK.

3. Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey: Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, England. McManus S, Bebbington P, Jenkins R, Brugha T. (2016) NHS Digital. 

This project successfully funded on 14th September 2023