the Arch to Arc event connects two of the world’s most beautiful cities via a series of hard-hitting endurance tests

Friday, 13 May 2016

Four brave men are set to complete one of the toughest endurance challenges in Europe, Enduroman’s Arch to Arc Event in order to raise awareness and funds for Scottish charity, Teapot Trust.

The Teapot Trust is an East Lothian-based charity that provides hospital-based art therapy to children with chronic illnesses and the charity’s co-founder, Dr John Young, is one of the team members taking part in this amazing challenge.

John and his wife Laura founded the Teapot Trust in 2010 after seeing the gaps in the care of their daughter Verity, who suffered from Lupus (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) and also cancer before her tragic death, aged just eight years of age, in 2009.

Gullane resident, John, aged 51, will also be accompanied by good friends Richard Hobson, also 51, Stuart Macleod, aged 49, and Alan Cardwell aged 42. Juggling full time jobs, families and other commitments, the team have already begun their gruelling months of training up in the Scottish mountains.

Beginning in London and finishing in Paris, the Arch to Arc event connects two of the world’s most beautiful cities via a series of hard-hitting endurance tests. Beginning at Marble Arch, London John and the team will start the challenge with an 87 mile run to Dover, Kent. They will then complete the notoriously difficult 21 mile channel swim to France. Finally, the team will cycle 180 miles from Calais to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

‘The Teapotters’ team will be completing the challenge as a relay, with each member competing in 60 minute durations. The event will be taking place in the last week of September 2016, with the team’s boat due to depart on Thursday 29 September 2016.

John Young said, “We are incredibly proud of what the Teapot Trust has achieved over the years, and fundraising events like the Arch to Arc challenge are fantastic ways to raise awareness and funds for the charity.

“Art therapy makes a huge difference to the lives of so many chronically ill children by helping them to relax, communicate or express themselves.

“The Teapot Trust relies completely on donations to continue its operations and so we would like to use this opportunity to raise as much awareness and funds as possible through this tough challenge.”

In 2015, the Teapot Trust provided over 3,000 hours of art therapy and interacted with 5,215 children. The couple were also named as Points of Lights by Prime Minister, David Cameron in June 2015 in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the community.

The charity works across Scotland in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Dundee, Aberdeen, Kirkcaldy and Melrose as well as in Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

The main focus is to continue providing the current services and fundraise for a programme of research. The Teapot Trust also hopes to begin one-on-one work in the Borders and begin a group art therapy session in the outpatients department of St John’s Hospital, West Lothian.

The Teapot Trust also hopes to raise enough funds to start providing art therapy to the remaining six NHS regions of the Scottish Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology Network (SPARN).

The Team’s fundraising page is live now and can be found here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/sh...


Timeline:

2005 John, with wife Laura wrote the children’s book Sandy Starfish
2010 Registered charity set up: Teapot Trust, fundraising begins
2011 Edinburgh RHSC Rheumatology Group begins 26 September (first provision of art therapy)
2012 Edinburgh RHSC Oncology Ward 2
One-to-one art therapy at RHSC Edinburgh
Glasgow RHSC Yorkhill Rheumatology Group
CHAS Rachel House Hospice
Glasgow 1-2-1 Art Therapy
2013 Dundee Paediatric Rheumatology Group at Tayside Children’s Hospital
(Ninewells Hospital)
2014 Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital Rheumatology Group
Tayside Children’s Hospital, Ninewells, Dundee 1-2-1 art therapy
Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, Paediatric Rheumatology Group
Administrator and Community Fund-raiser employed
Teapot Trust celebrates its fourth birthday party
2015 John and Laura Young named Points of Light by David Cameron
‘West of 8th’, donated by artist John Byrne, sold for £20,000
Teapot Trust named Charity of the Year (income under £250,000) and Children’s Charity of the Year at Charity Champions Awards
2016 John’s wife Laura receives MBE in the New Year’s Honours List
Dr John Young and friends take part in Arch to Arc Challenge to raise funds and awareness for the Teapot Trust

Links:

Teapot Trust http://www.teapot-trust.org/
Teapot Trust Fundraising Page http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/sh...
Enduroman Arch to Arc Challenge http://www.enduroman.com/#/arch-to-arc-events/4583446845

ENDS

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Kitty Robinson at kitty@famouspublicity.com or 0333 344 2341,
Tina Fotherby at tina@famouspublicity.com or 07703 409 622.

The Teapot Trust

The Teapot Trust provides professional art therapy to children with chronic illnesses in medical settings, with a particular remit to help children with rheumatological conditions. The Trust’s art therapists work in outpatient clinics, hospital wards, mental health services and hospices.

Long term health problems can cause anxiety, anger or upset for children and their families and may be difficult to talk about. Art therapy has been shown to reduce anxiety in clinics and before blood tests as children don’t always have the words to describe how they feel. Making art often gives them the ability to share worries non-verbally, helping children gain confidence, feel more in control and cope with their condition.

All of the Trust’s art therapists are clinically qualified with postgraduate-level training and extensive experience of working with children. They are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council and the British Association of Art Therapists.

The Teapot Trust runs up to three art therapy projects a day and currently works alongside other medical professionals in the following locations:

RHSC (‘Sick Kids’), Edinburgh
RHC, Glasgow
Tayside Children’s Hospital (‘Ninewells’), Dundee
Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital
CHAS Rachel House Hospice, Kinross
Art workshops for TCT, SNAC, SPARN and others
Group work for CAMHS, Young Person’s Eating Disorders Unit, Edinburgh
Raigmore Hospital, Inverness
Great Ormond Street Hospital, London
Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy
Borders General, Melrose

The Teapot Trust has exciting plans for further development across the UK in the future.