We are delighted that St Peter's College, Oxford are embracing and championing the BRIT 2021 Challenge in support of young adult mental health in the UK.
To ensure students and staff at the University of Oxford's 31 colleges were aware the opportunity to enter teams and participate in the BRIT 2021 Challenge, personal emails were sent to the President/Master/Principal/Rector/Warden/Dean/Provost of every college.
We are grateful to Professor Judith Buchanan, Master of St Peter's College, Oxford, for sharing details of the BRIT 2021 Challenge with their Junior Common Room (JCR) and Middle Common Room (MCR).
The St Peter's College, Oxford BRIT 2021 Challenge team is being coordinated by Sam Heywood, President of St Peter's College Boat Club, and Emma Rath, JCR Vice President for Welfare. Sam and Emma have kindly shared why the BRIT 2021 Challenge will have a positive impact on student mental health;
"We are thrilled to have entered a St Peter’s College Oxford team in the BRIT 2021 Challenge to support and improve young adult mental health and fitness throughout the UK.
With the aim of marrying the two major themes of the challenge – sport and mental health – our team is run jointly by the college Boat Club and the JCR and MCR welfare teams. At a time in which being together in our tight-knit college community is impossible, the BRIT 2021 Challenge is a wonderful way to unite all members, both students and staff, for a common purpose – to raise funds for wonderful mental health charities upon whose valuable work we rely more than ever.
The BRIT 2021 Challenge has been designed to enable students and staff of all abilities to participate on campus or at home. The sense of team effort and progress is palpable; we log and track our miles on a communal spreadsheet with a progress bar, which edges closer day by day to the 2,021-mile target. The Challenge is also highly inclusive in the sense that we actively encourage participants to engage in a variety of sports and activities, including hand-cycling, cycling, wheelchair pushing, swimming, walking, jogging, running, or paddling (canoeing, kayaking, rowing or paddle-boarding).
What makes the Challenge inspiring and unique is the way in which it improves mental health from two angles. On the one hand, it raises funds for five mental health charities who support students and young adults. On the other, it gives students and staff a common goal, an outlet, and a virtual connection, making up for the lack of physical togetherness which we are all longing for so much."
Sam Heywood (President of St Peter's College Boat Club) and Emma Rath (JCR Vice-President for Welfare)
We wish every student and staff member at St Peter's College, Oxford, the very best of luck with their 2,021 mile challenge and their fundraising target. Thank you so much for your support!