A MOTHER and daughter have teamed up to raise money for a mental health charity in Reading.

Olivia and Maddie Johnson have taken on No5 Young People’s #5KinMay challenge and already raised more than £1,000.

No5 provides counselling to young people aged 11-25 years and their parents/carers who live, work or study in the RG postcode.

The charity set up the challenge as a part of their #MakeitforMay campaign as a way to support people in the community to fundraise for young people’s mental health.

They have had teams walking, running and cycling their 5k’s and collectively have raised over £3,000.

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Speaking about the campaign, Olivia said: "We found out about the No5 challenge through their social media and decided that we should take part.

"The fundraiser is really important to us as although my daughter hasn’t benefitted from No5 she has struggled for many years with her mental health.

"This feels like a really positive thing to do and she is so engaged and loving seeing the donation total rise!"

Carly Newman, No5’s Operations and Relationships Manager, added: "We are absolutely blown away by the support this campaign has received, and how much Olivia and Maddie have raised so far.

"We are so grateful to them both for taking on this challenge and being so dedicated to raising awareness and support for No5. Without support from people in the community, we wouldn’t be here."

She continued: "Demand for our services has never been higher.

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"In the last year, 740 young people and their families have asked for help, many as a direct result from the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health.

"This campaign is really important to us as not only does it raise vital funds to pay for additional services, but also keeps mental health at the forefront of people’s minds and shows just how important it is."

No5 is hoping to raise £5,000 to fund an additional 150 counselling sessions for young people in the RG postcode area who need support for their mental health.

There’s still time to support Olivia and Maddie, and the whole #5KinMay challenge, by visiting their JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/No5s5KinMay