Nine Zest employees run marathon for mental health
Garden furniture, grow your own and decorative garden structure specialist, Zest, part of the P&A Group, is fielding a team to take on the Manchester Marathon on Sunday 14th April to raise money for North East Wales Mind, the P&A Group’s charity for 2024. Nine employees will be taking part.
Steve Morgan, Zest’s Managing Director said, “I am thrilled to announce the team’s enthusiastic participation in the upcoming Manchester Marathon. It is a powerful testament to our commitment to raising awareness of mental health issues as we support North East Wales Mind as our chosen charity this year.”
The team
The team is made up of people from across the business, including Hazel Bainbridge (Zest’s HR Director), Andrew Baker, Iwan Gwyn, Ben Morgan, Richard Shaw and Reza Yaghoubi. They will be joined by Pawel Czapiewski, Krzysztof Narloch and Jan Wardyn representing one of Zest’s Polish partner companies.
Andrew Baker, experienced marathon runner and Director of Finance at Zest commented, “Completing the marathon distance takes a great deal of mental and physical stamina but our mission is about more than that; it's about fostering a community of support, understanding, and compassion.
“We firmly believe that spending time with others, immersing ourselves in the great outdoors, and engaging in physical activity are not just hobbies but essential tools in our arsenal against the struggles of mental health.”
Hazel Bainbridge, Zest’s HR Director, added, “This will be my very first marathon so it will be a big ask but it’s no comparison to the daily battle of living with mental distress. It’s important to do more to remove the stigma and silence that surrounds mental well-being and make it easy to talk about our mental health so supporting the work that North East Wales Mind do is worth the effort.”
North East Wales Mind helps people in Flintshire and Wrexham recover from mental health problems and stay emotionally healthy. In addition to telephone counselling and emotional support, the charity offers a range of online services and activities. Their phone lines are open 10am til 4pm each weekday.
To donate to North East Wales Mind, please click here
Over the last 14 years, Zest employees have raised over £150,000 for a variety of charities alongside colleagues in the P&A Group.