The superhuman efforts of the RAAM Roses team, who cycled the width of America in under a week (and did it with time to spare) resulted in a cool £10,000 for the IdeasTap community. In their honour, we launched the Wellbeing Fund – providing £1,000 to 10 healthy living projects. We got loads of entries, and we can now reveal the winners of the 2011 Wellbeing Fund...
Alan Ramsay - Thoughts-Feelings-Behaviour-Body
A graphic designer, Alan wants to find a way of more fully involving drawing and image-making in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; aiming to make it a more accessible and engaging for people suffering from anxiety and depression. As Alan says: “This resource will remove the need for drawing ability (on behalf of the psychologist), allowing for more effective expression, allowing them to map their own personal thoughts and how it affects their behaviour.”
Hein van der Westhuizen - Journey of Youth
Building on impressive peer research involving over 30 volunteers in Cumbria, Hein and his team plan to film short satirical sketches based on a fictitious news show with a public health slant. The aim is to help people become clued-up on the food they eat.
John Newton - Your City is a Publicly Owned Orchard
“We want to transform the way people think about their city, to realise its potential as a publicly-owned orchard with a huge variety of produce,” John says in his application. He wants to help people – through a network of local organizations in Manchester – to view their city as a vast resource of hidden produce waiting to be discovered.
Michelle Arbon – Postcards to a Friend
Michelle’s ambitious short film, made up of live action, animation and still photography, follows a young girl finding her way in the world while sending postcards home as she begins to discover the wealth of positive activities available out there.
Michelle says: "I hope that by watching this Short Film, the audience will see that healthy living can be enjoyable and that they will be inspired to try this for themselves."
Jessica Walrond – The Waiting Room Project
In partnership with hospital radio station WeyRadio and Surrey Arts, Jessica’s dance duet will tour GP and hospital waiting rooms.
Jessica says: “This project will promote both dance and music as great stress relievers to the patients in the waiting rooms. It will also hopefully encourage waiting rooms to play music and patients to participate in more physical activity.”
Martha Orbach – It’s All Fine Lines
After winning the V&A Inspired By competition this year, Martha has decided to use her talent in fine art to illustrate what it’s like to be afflicted by mental illness. She said: “The illustrations will be have a personal touch and will contribute to making mental illness and those who suffer from it seem less "other" and more identifiable and so help remove stigma. Distributing the drawings will increase public understanding of mental health and may help some people negotiate these issues.”
Lucy Field – Inside Dance: Wellbeing Special
Lucy and her team are piloting a new online contemporary dance TV series – Inside Dance, with a focus on wellbeing, staying active and being healthy. Lucy says: “Starting the project from scratch, we are developing the format, sourcing content, writing and filming material, presenting, editing and promoting the show. Currently there is nothing else out there like this.”
Brett Smith – The Lifestyle Challenge
Brett’s offering £600 to the IdeasTap member with the healthiest lifestyle over a four month period – as proven through their IdeasTap activity points. Fifteen points for burning 300 calories, five points for eating a tomato. “This is a very cheap and innovative and exciting idea with incredible potential,” Brett told IdeasTap.
Alex Moore - F/00d: Public Exhibition
An experienced photographer, Alex will use his ability to compose striking images to raise awareness of the impact an unhealthy diet can have on childhood and to uncover some of the issues surrounding modern food production. He says: “Healthy eating can no longer be an optional fad for affluent suburban families. We must all question the way we eat, the future of our health, society and economy depend on it.”
Meddy Ford - Butterflies
With short film Butterflies, Meddy aims to depict the perfect girl who has a perfect life – boyfriend, career, home – but who also has Body Dysmorphic Disorder.
Meddy says: “It’s a film about what happens when you look in the mirror and you don’t see what the rest of the world sees. Have you ever wanted to change yourself forever? To become someone new?”