Hiking in honour of young people and our mental health and community services
This weekend (2–3 Aug), Dr Katarzyna S. Adamczyk, a Specialist Counselling Psychologist in Gender, who works with the Trans Support Service at Mersey Care will be taking on an unforgettable fundraising challenge – the Snowdon at Night Mersey Cares Challenge – to raise funds for our mental health and community services.
Kasia was inspired to fundraise for Mersey Cares to support and empower young people who are experiencing mental health challenges; to show them they are valued and supported by a caring community.
Ahead of the weekend, she shared:
"I’m raising funds to support programmes that empower young people who have experienced challenges with their mental health — helping them build confidence, develop new skills, and take the first steps toward their careers.
We all want to feel like we’re making a difference. I’ll be hiking in honour of these young people, to remind them — and all of us — that they each have something valuable and beautiful to offer the world.
Let’s help them move forward with hope and strength."
The Challenge: 9 Miles in the Dark
Kasia will be joining around 150 other participants to climb Wales’ highest mountain standing at 1,085 meters above sea level, with the goal of reaching the summit in time to watch the sun rise over Snowdonia’s stunning landscape. The adventure begins at midnight, with registration and preparation before hiking nine miles through the dark, guided by head torches - and for Kasia, a passion to make a difference for young people.
From Hiking in Scotland to Snowdon at Sunrise
Kasia, who works therapeutically with trans, non-binary and gender-questioning people, was inspired to sign up for the Snowdon at Night Challenge after seeing our ‘Make It Mersey Cares’ campaign earlier this year.
“This year, I promised myself to do some of the things that I have wanted to do but did not have time or resources. I wanted to be a little more selfish, do something for myself, and push myself," she said.
"I love challenges, and the sense of contributing and making a difference, so when I saw the Snowdon Challenge I thought: this is perfect, and so I signed up!”
It's just sort of like bringing a little bit of extraordinary into your ordinary life."
Kasia's love of hiking began during the pandemic, when she lived in Scotland and explored the Munros – mountains over 3,000 feet. She soon discovered the physical and mental health benefits that hiking in the great outdoors offered and never looked back. Ahead of the Snowdon challenge she has been preparing by attending a number of group hikes in the Welsh mountains as well as strength training focused on her legs and core.
Taking on the Challenge – and Fundraising for the First Time
For Kasia, the fundraising element was just as important as the challenge itself - although she admits, asking people to sponsor her efforts did take her out of her comfort zone.
"You can climb Snowdon any time, but doing it for charity made it feel more meaningful," she explained. "I’d never fundraised before so I felt nervous about asking people for donations and putting myself out there, wondering if anyone would support me. But I decided to just do it, thinking: no, I can make this happen!"
The Impact of Hiking
The impact hiking has had on Kasia since she began during the pandemic has been seismic, and she's a true advocate of the activity for supporting better health and wellbeing as well as connecting with nature, the self, and for building confidence. She also credits hiking and its benefits with supporting her work as a Counselling Psychologist, enabling her to better support the people she works with.
“Hiking helped to build my confidence, built my resilience and showed me what I can achieve. It helps you to see things from a bigger perspective, because from the top of a mountain you can see everything clearly," she said.
"You get to see that so many things are just small stuff. You reconnect with yourself and with the essence of life – and that really helps me. It grounds me and fills me with joy and hope – and you need that when you work with clients who are struggling to see that.
"They may be feeling somewhere in the valleys, and you are able to stand at the top of the mountain and say, ‘Listen, you just need to follow the journey and you will get here as well.’”
Support Kasia's Fundraising
Kasia will be flying the flag for Mersey Cares, for young people facing mental health challenges and for our mental health and community services this weekend - and we'd like to support her as much as we can! If you'd like to sponsor her challenge with a small donation - it really can help make such a difference.
All funds raised will help Mersey Cares support mental health and community services across Cheshire and Merseyside, supporting initiatives that go beyond the scope of NHS funding.
