The Chicken, the Egg and the Charity!

2023 was a whirlwind for BTG.

This little charity, founded in Congleton, Cheshire, went nationwide with a bang.

I feel like I blinked and it happened.

When BTG was founded, we worked with one counselor who did a single day per week. I did all the PT sessions out of the CrossFit gym; we paid the counselor, and I did the PT sessions for free because we had no funding.

There were times I questioned if I was crazy for doing it.

But I realized, though, that I had to make it work because these programs worked.

They were saving people's lives. It felt criminal not to share this with the world, and that’s how we took the next big step. We started working with SWANS CIC, who had the capacity to support more clients.

I began traveling to other gyms locally and found JWC in Sandbach.

There I met Heather, who now plays a crucial role in the running of BTG.

But then it happened—people were hearing about this charity that gave free mental health programs, this charity that would actually take you by the hand and help you, not fob you off with a leaflet or a waitlist.

A charity that helped you learn how to live a healthy, happy life.

And they came, but the money didn’t.

This is always the difficulty with running a service like this; it’s the chicken and the egg—what comes first?

We need people to know we exist so we can be considered for fundraisers, donations, grants, sponsorship, and any kind of support to keep the programs available.

But the more people that know about us, the more people that come. It really is a never-ending cycle.

With 1 in 10 charities going bankrupt and disappearing, we've had to work harder than ever to keep going.

It’s been tough, but we’re making it work.

With some incredible donations and sponsorships from local businesses and organizations, we’ve managed to provide support to over 200 people.

There are too many to list here in my 400-word count, but I can say truly, we appreciate every single penny that’s donated.

You can’t put a price on someone’s life, but £750 is enough to give us a chance to save someone’s.

Vicky x