"be brave or tough enough to deal with a difficult or unpleasant situation"
- Oxford dictionary.
OUr mission
The adopted term of ‘MAN UP’ as we know it, needs to be challenged.
Don’t just brush yourself down & get on with it.
That's our focus, that’s our mission.
Where Your Support Has Taken Us
The Impact of Every Pound
Every donation to MANUP? has been a vital contribution to a journey. No charity can thrive on air alone but we take huge pride in ensuring that every pound you've entrusted us with has been maximised. This page is a testament to that trust – a transparent showcase of the impacts we’ve made together.
Operational achievements
Embracing fiscal responsibility, we’ve run MANUP? on a shoestring budget, focusing on essentials such as:
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Like any charity, business, or individual, we manage necessary expenditures including rent, administrative costs such as correspondence, printing, postage, and travel.
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Spreading our message and fostering community spirit through our branded merchanside where we upfront the costs.
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Our dedicated team is vital to our initiatives. Even without full-time staff, every MANUP? team member gives their all, far beyond what we can compensate. Balancing their own lives and businesses, their unwavering commitment truly shows their dedication to our cause.
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Travel can be a significant expense, yet we strive to keep these costs as low as possible. We travel exclusively to locations where we can make a meaningful impact within the community. Importantly, when engaging with businesses, we ensure they cover these travel costs, rather than using fundraising money
Direct Aid and Community Support Achievements
The core of MANUP? lies in the events we’ve organised and the direct aid we’ve provided. Achievements include:
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Our Events Page highlights the wide range of activities we’ve participated in, each aimed at tackling the stigma associated with men’s mental health.
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In some cases we’ve helped individuals by covering therapy costs to make critical mental health care more accessible. Additionally, we provide regular online therapy sessions for which we’ve covered these costs upfront so that they are free at the point of receiving; .
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We’ve extended our funding for mental health support phone lines with one charity, ensuring they remain open for an additional six months to provide vital ongoing support
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Supporting other mental health charities with staffing during tough times and repairing vehicles for community use in their pursuit of mental health assistance.
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We conduct training sessions to educate and empower individuals about mental health, particularly within the social enterprise and charity sectors, where budgets are incredibly stretched. These sectors often have the most impact within various communities.
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We have supported a family by contributing to rehabilitation costs, allowing them to keep their loved one in treatment while maintaining their family home. Additionally, we have collaborated with a charity to assist with staffing as they work to support men battling addictions.
Research and Advocacy Achievements
Delving into the complexities of male mental health has been a key focus at MANUP?. Our efforts have included:
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We are funding and collaborating with doctors and PhD researchers to investigate high male death rates. Our year-long campaign aims to explore why men, even when they discuss their life challenges, face systemic barriers. The report that comes out of this funding could well be so powerful that it influences the overstretched NHS mental health system.
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Thoroughly evaluating how services, society, and charities address men’s mental health challenges.
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Using our findings to challenge and change policies and societal attitudes, aiming for a responsive and supportive environment for men’s mental health.
Our Ultimate Goal
At MANUP?, our ultimate aim is to render ourselves obsolete. We envision a future where our services are no longer needed because the stigma surrounding men’s mental health has been eradicated, and effective support systems are universally accessible. Until then, we remain steadfast in our mission.
Conclusion
Your support has empowered us to make real differences. Every penny donated has been a step towards dismantling barriers and building a world where mental health is openly discussed and adequately supported. Together, we are more than a charity; we are a movement.
TIMELINE
MANUP? How it all started, what happened in between and where we are now.
4 mar 2019
MANUP? was born.
Between this, ideas started flying, looking for land to host a large photoshoot, the concept was turned down, a lot, because it didn’t fit the ‘norm’. No-one wanted to get involved with the phrase MANUP?. They didn’t get it.
26 Mar 2019
Dan contacted a school governor at Copleston
About using Copleston school field, within 20 minutes of that call, Mr Andy Green (Head Teacher) welcomed the ‘idea’ and offered the schools land.
29 Mar 2019
Dan contacted Steve Bown.
We had dates, we had the idea, we needed a ‘brand’.
We got people talking about mental health in the local area.
Press picked it up.
We were changing opinions.
Men were contacting us for guidance.
23 Jun 2019
MANUP? event happened.
We didn’t hit the 1000 target.
One of the major routes to the location was closed for 2 hours,
We learned a lot.
We kept chipping away, re-planning, learning what people wanted from the first event.
12 Feb 2020
MANUP? #2 was born.
We wanted to do it again but with a new location, easier to find etc…
Cult Bar in Ipswich agreed to host the event.
Date booked - 27 June 2020.
We had speakers.
More of a social gathering rather than just the photos.
We listened to the feedback from the first gig.
Where it Changed
Mar 2020
COVID.
We paused the event.
23 APR 2020
Joe Ball from Fred Olsen sent us a video which covered telling employers about depression etc… He discussed his own issues / battles and how he got past it.
We knew we were on to something!
14 MAY 2020
Our first video with 5 men.
Life & Mental Health during the lockdown. We wanted to highlight what each person was doing etc… We spoke to a church leader, photographer, CEO and ex-police officer.
We did these videos weekly during lockdowns. We started to get messages from people asking for help.
11 JUN 2020
A gay guy, a Christian, an American and a Ginger joined a video.
We wanted to discuss any discrimination they’ve had to deal with in their lives after a global story in the news.
Again, we were flooded with messages & comments.
24 JUN 2020
We decided to call it a day with the event.
We got bored cancelling and rearranging. We got a new date for the event. 26 Sep 2020 but we expected to cancel this due to COVID.
8 JUN 2020
One-on-one.
We wanted to try one-on-one videos rather than group chats. We wanted to highlight issues that men have with mental health.
15 AUG 2020
One of Dan’s friends sent in a video.
He discussed his story and what made him ask for help. The video brought in a couple of messages, asking for guidance.
10 SEP 2020
Dan made a video.
He discussed why he won’t share anything about mental health weeks or suicide days.
13 OCT 2020
Our first ever video under the new MANUP? format on Facebook. We had to start a new page, a new identity. We launched the page with a video called ‘Tourette’s & Mental Health’.
The new format of MANUP? was born.
24th oct 2020
Dan started to count the messages, emails and private message he had from men wanting help, a chat or guidance. He knew that we needed to have a regulated process.
21 dec 2020
We spoke to a financial advisor (Ian Little) who helped many businesses, charities and even churches about setting up as a charity. Ian volunteered his services
26 Jan 2021
We had our first real meeting about setting up as a CIO/Charity. We worked out our goals, mission and the next steps for MANUP?
3 MARCH 2021
After weeks of emails, calls and zoom meetings we agreed on the legal framework, constitution and ‘stuff’. Ian Little submitted our application to the charity commission.
Getting Serious
12 May 2021
We helped with ‘Welcome back to Wellbeing’ with EADT. Dan took part in this week-long event in Suffolk. You can watch his interview here
24 May 2021
Charity Commission - Delayed by 8 weeks. Due to COVID & Delays, we are still waiting for approval as a registered charity (CIO)
7 JULY 2021
We did it. We are now a registered charity. Our details: MANUP? Registered Charity Number 1195085. Now, our focus is to remove the stigma of men & mental health.
JANUARY 2022
Finally, we can move on from the video only format. We have been able to talk in schools, universities & arranging our own events due to COVID rules being relaxed.
Happening Now
Social media will always account for 60% of our work. We show mostly male characters overcoming mental health problems, rather than suffering from them. As a result, we now work with businesses, schools, NHS & other charities to continue to break down the stigma associated with male mental health. MANUP? organises regular events to reach out to places social media might not reach.