Eastgate Centre Installs Mikeysline Poster for the Winter Season

On 21st November 2022 a new poster at Eastgate Centre for Mikeysline was installed to raise funds and awareness over the critical winter period for the charity. Eastgate Centre approached Mikeysline about the installation as a kind gesture and to maximise the use of their space, and the increased footfall over Christmas. During development with Acorn Signs, Acorn were keen to support Mikeysline as well and absorbed 50% of the manufacturing costs. The poster is at the entrance of the walkway to the bathrooms and access to Morrisons car park, between the NHS Vaccination Centre and Waterstones.

Mikeysline provides text-based support via a range of platforms during evenings and weekends for people across the Highlands and Moray struggling with their mental health. Or at risk of self-harm and suicide. The charity also provides appointment and drop-in one-to-one in-person support, as well as collaborating with schools and workforces to provide mental health awareness sessions and workshops.

 Quote from Jackie Cuddy, Manager of Eastgate Centre: “We are pleased to support Mikeysline with this poster to support them and raise awareness of their charity as they are heading into their busiest period through the winter. The Eastgate Centre is at the heart of our community and we try whenever possible to strengthen links with local worthwhile causes. It has been wonderful to see how Mikeysline has grown, and to be able to help them at a moment of greater demand for their vital mental health and suicide prevention services.”

 Quote from Katie Melville, Fundraising Manager: “We were delighted to be approached by the Eastgate Centre’s management team earlier this month with their offer of placing a poster in the gallery highlighting Mikeysline’s work and how to access our services. We are also touched that when the marketing team at Eastgate contacted Acorn Signs to create the poster, Acorn decided to provide a 50% discount on printing costs to support the project. During the winter months and especially in the approach to Christmas, many people struggle with their mental health as a result of the cold, darkness, financial pressures, and loneliness. Hopefully Eastgate patrons will see this poster and seek out support for themselves or others that might need it. As ever, we are here for anyone in the Highlands and Moray who want to talk, 365 days a year.”

The Scottish Highlander Photo Archive (SHPA) marks one year since the publication of their photobook Vintage Vehicles in Inverness and the Highlands with a donation to Mikeysline.

The printing costs were generously donated by car sales company Dicksons of Inverness, of 28-34 Carsegate Road, Inverness, with the agreement that any surplus profits would be donated to local grassroots mental health charity Mikeysline. A donation of £500 was made earlier this week, following a year of sales of the book which is available at Dicksons’ showroom, and in the Victorian Market Sweet Shop.

To mark the sale of the book, and the donation, Mikeysline staff CEO Emily Stokes and Fundraising Manager Katie Melville joined Dicksons Director of Sales Jim Mackenzie and Adrian Harvey of the SHPA for a photograph at the showroom. Dicksons of Inverness donated the “Mikeyslinemobile” Kia Rio at the beginning of 2022, and since it hit the road Mikeysline have been able to reach 3000 more people for support, information sessions, and workshops and collaborations in schools and businesses right across the Highlands and Moray. Only due to the generosity of Dicksons has Mikeysline been able to develop their network, from Caithness to the Isle of Skye to Elgin, and beyond.

This generous support from the SHPA and Dicksons of Inverness to Mikeysline was particularly appropriate given the longstanding support Dicksons has provided for the charity, but also because the photobook was populated using prints collected from the Andrew Paterson Studio which operated in the heart of Inverness from 1895 – 1980, and which has since become Mikeysline’s Hive and headquarters at 19 Academy Street, Inverness.

Mikeysline provides text-based support via a range of platforms during evenings and weekends for people across the Highlands and Moray struggling with their mental health. Or at risk of self-harm and suicide. The charity also provides appointment and drop-in one-to-one in-person support, as well as collaborating with schools and workforces to provide mental health awareness sessions and workshops.

Emily Stokes, Chief Executive Officer of Mikeysline, said: “We knew that having a dedicated car within the charity would be a game changer in enabling us to expand our offer of support and services further and we are so grateful for the support from Dicksons in enabling us to affordably reach more distant locations from our main base in Inverness, whilst increase our visibility due to our car’s branding. It is amazing to be able to reflect on the additional number of people reached since w received the car earlier this year. We are also so grateful for the support from Adrian Harvey and Dicksons in helping to promote Mikeysline and raise funds through the photobook Vintage Vehicles In Inverness and the Highlands, which is made all the more special through our joint connection with SHPA through our Inverness Hive at 19 Academy Street.”

Adrian Harvey of the Scottish Highlander Photo Archive, said: “SHPA were very pleased when Dicksons came forward to collaborate with us and cover the publishing costs of our book which was published a year ago. The agreement to donate surplus profits to Mikeysline was also ideal for us, as the Andrew Paterson Studio operated for 85 years until 1980 in what is now Mikeysline’s Hive. The book’s forward was written by Jim Mackenzie of Dicksons, and is available at Dicksons’ showroom and in the Sweet Shop in the Victorian Market for sale. Our work is also available to view on scottishhighlanderphotoarchive.co.uk, and on Facebook where we have 4 dedicated pages.”

Jim Mackenzie, Director of Sales for Dicksons of Inverness, said: “I was approached by Mikey’s uncle Ron Williamson nearly 7 years ago to help him as he set up Mikeysline. I’ve been keen to involve Dicksons and find ways and means to support such an important cause ever since, and we were delighted to present them with the car at the start of this year, which I’m pleased has been a game-changer for their growth. Adrian and I know each other through Teclan, the marketing agency who provide Dicksons’ website support, and we were delighted to offer to fund the publication of the SHPA’s book in exchange for a Mikeysline donation. We sell the book in our showroom and it is a great conversation piece with clients.”

Mikeysline announces partnership with Michaels Culinary School to provide online workshops to the public, and promote good mental health through food, and develop cooking skills. 

Michaels Culinary School, a new online and in-person culinary school launched by CEOs Michael Fallows and Connor Rae in 2021 as a Social Enterprise, announces a collaboration with grassroots mental health and suicide prevention charity Mikeysline (SC046574). The School has been in talks with a local GP to be a contributor for social prescription, who will refer patients to the School to learn new skills, engage in the community, and pursue a healthy lifestyle using the replicable and affordable recipes produced and taught by Michaels Culinary School Chef Connor Rae.

Mikeysline provides text-based support via a multitude of social media platforms during evenings and weekends for people across the Highlands and Moray struggling with their mental health. The charity also provides drop-in and one-to-one in-person support, as well as collaborating with schools and workforces to provide educational activities and workshops.

Online workshops with Michael’s Culinary School will cover several classic dishes and encourage attendees to build confidence in the kitchen from the comfort of their own home. The workshop collaboration will launch in the week beginning 10^th October 2022- World Mental Health Day, and a number of places on the workshop have been reserved for the benefit of Mikeysline- volunteers and service users. The School will provide codes for Mikeysline to use as vouchers when they apply to join the classes via the Schools website, michaelsculinaryschool.co.uk. The School provides a list of ingredients and equipment, and a link to join the online workshop. Members of the public are encouraged to participate in the workshops as well, and can book a place in the same way.

Mikeysline has recently welcomed consultant nutritional scientist and visiting contributor Kerstin Eickhoff-Piechaczek from Germany. Kerstin will be attending some of the workshops with Connor to facilitate friendly and informative conversations about the relationships between food and mental health in a number of the workshops.

Katie Melville, Fundraising Manager for Mikeysline said: “We were delighted to be approached by Michaels Culinary School to benefit from their online workshop programme. Their vision as a social enterprise to encourage people in our community to learn new skills and prepare fresh, healthy and affordable meals for themselves is appropriately timed as the cost of living continues to affect all of us. By being able to signpost our service users to Michaels Culinary School we can encourage people meet and talk to others, learn something new, and prepare a fresh healthy meal.”

Michael Fallows, CEO of Michaels Culinary School, said: “Michaels Culinary School was setup with the help and support of my Grandad who sadly took his own life in January 2022 due to poor mental health. I want to use this opportunity with Mikeysline to make sure that they can continue the work and support that they provide to the local community, and to make sure that people know its ok not to be ok.”