Stevie and Donna's Half Marathon

Stevie and I both love and play guitar and sax respectively, in a local ska band. I, Donna, have a passion for mental health having had experienced ill mental health myself. Stevie has been a great support. We are running half marathon events this year, it will be my first time undertaking a half marathon, and what better way to motivate us than to raise money for Tonic Music for Mental Health Check them out: www.tonicmusic.co.uk - tonicmusicmh@gmail.co Tonic Music for Mental Health is a not-for-profit organisation (company no: 08093898) based in Southsea, established in 2012. They are honoured to have both Terry Hall (The Specials) and Kevin Cummins (Music Photographer) as our patrons. Tonic hosts gigs and events in London, Portsmouth and Southampton with line-ups including Terry Hall, Dub Pistols, Norman Jay MBE, Kevin Rowland, Corduroy and Eddie Piller. They regularly have information stalls at gigs and tours with bands such as The Specials and festivals such as the IOW Festival and Victorious. Tonic offers people opportunities to take part in relaxed and informal groups to learn skills such as music theory, technique, repertoire development, stylistic awareness, achieving a good tone, overcoming nerves and anxiety, performance technique and making practice productive and beneficial. The support Tonic offers is designed to increase confidence, reduce isolation and promote individual recovery through relaxed and informal music-based support. We encourage open discussions about mental health and promote peer support and friendships beyond the groups. In the current climate of austerity measures and government cuts, services available to people with mental health problems (particularly within the arts) are too often limited and hard to access. We aim to support people who may already be receiving input from mental health services and those who have not had any previous contact to provide an inclusive support network to help people in their recovery.