Saturday 23^rd February 2019 is Kev’s 40^th birthday.

Kevin was Jim Bentley’s first signing for Morecambe FC and is still the club’s joint top scorer this season. His 23-year career includes 700+ club appearances and 150+ goals.

To mark his 40^th birthday, not only are we hoping he’s going to play and score against Lincoln City (one of his former clubs and currently the top club in League Two), but we’ve also planned a few surprises including a big 40^th birthday card which we’re hoping all Shrimps fans will sign in JB’s Bar before the game.

Around the ground on Saturday volunteers from Lancashire Mind, who deliver valuable mental health and wellbeing projects to young people within our local community, will hold a bucket collection – something Kevin (who has been raising awareness of his own personal battles with depression) fully supports and was keen to get involved with as part of his special day.

Check out a superbly honest and moving interview with Kev below to hear from the man himself about his upcoming birthday and how things have changed for him recently.

Kevin has also donated a signed 2018-19 Morecambe FC shirt which will be auctioned by Shrimps Trust after the game in the Local Choice Suite.

So please give generously to the bucket collection on Saturday.

One of the volunteers collecting on the day is Paul Waterhouse. Paul (Puds) is the father of the late Sian Waterhouse, who sadly committed suicide last year after battling anxiety and depression. As a direct result of Paul’s fundraising efforts (the ‘Shine for Sian’ campaign has raised £31k for Lancashire Mind – see the excellent Visitor article here), Lancashire Mind is actively operating preventative projects for young people in the local community focussing on raising awareness and prevention.

Active projects in Morecambe are:

Whole School Approach

Over half of mental health problems in adult life start by the age of 14, and 75% by the age of 24. The scale and urgency of this complex situation can’t be addressed in isolation, and can’t be met solely by the NHS. It needs all of us to work together.

The Whole School Approach towards better mental health is being piloted across the UK by local Mind groups in conjunction with National Mind in London, and has been designed by children, young people, parents, the school workforce and local Mind groups (including Lancashire Mind). It gives the entire school community the things they desperately need for mental health care. Interventions such as tailored assemblies on exam stress and self-care, workshops on building resilience for pupils, 1-to-1 wellbeing coaching, and information and training for staff are being delivered in 4 schools in Lancashire (Morecambe High School, Central Lancaster High School, St Bede’s Catholic High School in Ormskirk, and Ribblesdale High in Clitheroe). This includes not only pupils but all staff who are at school, as well as parents and families of the pupils.

Happier Lancashire

The Happier Lancashire project is a movement designed to raise awareness and a better understanding of mental health. We deliver talks and sessions to schools, colleges, universities and community groups for free about the five ways to well-being:-  Connect, Keep Learning, Take Notice, Be Active and Give. By using these 5 ways in everyday life a person is less likely to develop a mental health condition and more likely to feel happier and healthier. In the last twelve months, we have delivered this across Lancashire reaching over 4,000 people.

Changing Futures

Changing futures works with people who have taken time out of work or are currently unemployed due to a mental health condition which has previously prevented them from working. Our Transformation Coach offers drop in and 1-to-1 sessions with people to help them manage their mental health condition and get back into employment. This includes things like helping people to pass their driving test, work on interview skills and job applications along with a better understanding of how to manage mental health.

To find out more about Lancashire Mind, please click here.

Nationally, Mind is this season’s and next season’s official charity partner of the Football League. You may have noticed the Mind “squiggle” logo on the back of players’ shirts: