Inventor Tom Lawton Donates £1,000 to Sea Sanctuary to mark World Mental Health Day

Inventor Tom Lawton, founder of Uplifting Products, has donated £1,000 from the sale of his latest invention to the Sea Sanctuary, a mental health and wellbeing charity rooted in the concept of ‘blue health’.

Tom pledged earlier this year to donate £10 from every sale of his latest invention, the Uplift 2.0 to the Cornwall-based charity. Uplift 2.0 is a solar powered sculpture designed to sit on a windowsill and gently revolve in the light. The progressive new design is inspired by the ocean and the motion of the waves. 

Good for the mind and the planet, the aqua marine coloured spiral is made from 100% recycled fishing nets, sourced from Cornish Hake Fisheries and is powered by its own solar panel. 

“Sea Sanctuary provides invaluable support to vulnerable people via their unique concept of ‘blue health’. What they do is truly remarkable and we’re proud to be able to donate £1,000 to them on World Mental Health Day,” Tom said. 

The Sea Sanctuary provides unique mental health programmes by taking their clients out on to the water. They use a combination of sail training, marine activities and evidence-based therapies to help children and adults who are struggling with issues such as stress, anxiety, depression. 

Joe Sabien, CEO & Founder of Sea Sanctuary said he was grateful to Tom for his support: “Your willingness to support our charity is particularly kind, in the current pandemic and is very much appreciated by the entire Seas Sanctuary team. The monies gifted are forming the basis of The Uplift Bursary which will fund a four-day residential Sail into Life Programme, for six client sailors. 

“Our Sail into Life programme is rooted in ‘blue health’, the concept which draws on the beneficial effects that access to ‘blue spaces’, such as the sea is beneficial for our mental health. By combining evidence-based therapies with marine-based activities we provide an invigorating sense of adventure along with the help andsupport people require to build and sustain emotional resilience and an improved level of wellbeing. It has proven to be unique recipe for success that has helped hundreds of people improve their health. This donation will enable us to support more vulnerable people who greatly need our help. Thank you.” 

This first donation marks World Mental Health Day on October 10 and this year’s theme, given the ongoing impact of the pandemic, is ‘Mental Health for All’. 

“Mental wellbeing is important at all times,” Tom said. “However the evidence shows that during this pandemic, mental health issues have spiked dramatically making it even more important to our bit to support those who work tirelessly to help those in mental health difficulty.”

For every Uplift 2.0 sold on Tom’s website - beuplifted.co.uk -  £10 will be donated to the charity and will form part of ‘The Uplift Bursary’ to help those seeking financial support to access the charity’s services. Uplift 2.0 is designed, manufactured and assembled by hand in England. For more information visit https://beuplifted.co.uk

For more information about World Mental Health Day visit https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/world-mental-health-day

To find out more about The Sea Sanctuary visit https://seasanctuary.org.uk