Hampshire’s Silverlake Garage backs suicide prevention charity Andy’s Man Club

Published by

Daniel Face

Silverlake Automotive Recycling has continued its support for suicide prevention charity Andy’s Man Club, raising funds and holding events over the festive period.

Christmas and New Year can be a stressful time for many, so Silverlake invited the charity to deliver presentations to all its staff in the preceding weeks.

They also treated members of the Andy’s Man Club teams in Eastleigh and Southampton to some matchday hospitality at the home ground of Eastleigh FC, who count the garage among their sponsors.

The day began with a tour of the company’s recycling site in Shedfield before a triumphant 2–1 win for Eastleigh over Dorking Wanderers.

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Andy’s Man Club provides free peer-to-peer groups at more than 150 locations across the UK, offering men a chance to come together and discuss issues in a safe and open environment.

Silverlake helps to fund their work via the UDonateacar.com charity scheme.

Allen Prebble, Managing Director at Silverlake, said: “Men experience disproportionately high rates of suicide, with death by suicide being the biggest killer of men under the age of 50 in the UK.

“Mental illness affects people of every gender, but poor mental health outcomes for men are often driven by ‘toxic masculinity’ where men are portrayed or expected to be strong and silent.

“Andy’s Man Club encourages men to talk and provides a vital service to support men’s mental health. Staff feedback from the presentations they gave at Silverlake was hugely positive.

“We’re proud to be able to raise funds for Andy’s Man Club through our UDonateacar.com scheme and it was a real pleasure to have them as our guests at Eastleigh Football Club.”

Andy’s Man Club received their grant last year from Global’s Make Some Noise, which distributes the funds raised through UDonateacar.com.

Darren Edwards, the charity’s Project Development Champion, added: “The grant helps us to keep our doors open and provide a safe space for men to come and talk and we are incredibly grateful.

“It was great for our Eastleigh and Southampton teams to have a day out as guests of Silverlake and very much appreciated – the site tour was a real eye opener into automotive recycling.

“I also welcomed the opportunity to run three presentations for Silverlake’s staff to ensure everyone heard our message that ‘It’s okay to talk’.”

Daniel Face

Born and raised in Berkshire, Dan fell into journalism after completing his bachelor’s degree in English at UCL. Writing for The Business Magazine and local Biz News sites has given him the opportunity to chat with all manner of small business owners and share their success stories with a wider audience. Outside of work, Dan enjoys live music, board games and quiz shows, and is making a slow but persistent effort to learn Spanish.