Newcastle students raise over £6,000 playing golf for charity

Two Newcastle University students raised over £6,000 playing 72 holes of golf in a single day to raise money for men’s mental health charity, MANUP?. At Close House Golf Club at 4:45am, on May 26th, Harry James and Rafferty Forsythe played in a better ball format and pledged their own money for every par (£10), birdie (£20) and eagle (£50) they made throughout the day. A hole in one would trigger a £500 donation.

The pair are raising money for MANUP?, a charity that aims to break the stigma around men’s mental health by providing free private therapy sessions and collaborating with businesses, schools, and the NHS to challenge the adopted term of “man up.”

Male students are more than twice as likely as women to die by suicide, yet are consistently less likely to seek help. MANUP? exists to tackle that gap. Its mission is to focus on more than just “brushing yourself down and getting on with it”, and this message of support is something that both Harry and Raff keep close to them.

Harry described how, like a lot of people his age, university came with its own challenges, and anxiety was the biggest one for him. At its worst, his anxiety led to him missing seminars, avoiding social events, and getting frustrated with himself for it. He began therapy in his first year which he says “genuinely changed things” for him.

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Raff, who had privately battled with anxiety for most of his life, says he developed depression during university. He credits therapy and a medical diagnosis with making “the world of difference”, and says he wants to share his story to encourage others to seek help.

Golf has been part of their own recovery, with it being a way they can spend time with mates and “take off all the pressures from studying and life generally”.

The event had around 40 attendees, a drinks reception, and raffle in the evening, and the pair managed to smash their target of £5,000, raising over £6,500 for the charity.

You can donate on their JustGiving page.