Breaking the taboo and talking about mental health is something I’m really passionate about. When I see what organisations like The Resilient Kid are doing to help our children build skills for their future, I’m compelled to help.

Who am I? I’m Michelle Phelps from Hartford Wealth Management. We’re a business at the heart of our local community that helps people plan their journey to create financial freedom. Of course, wealth is very subjective, and it certainly isn’t all about money. It can be recognised in many ways and one of those is through happiness and wellbeing.

Hartford Wealth Management recently donated £500 towards the early years programme which is being developed by The Resilient Kid. I wanted to tell you why we made this vital donation and about the difference we hope it will make.

Mental health is something that is very close to my heart. I faced some difficult challenges with my own mental health after becoming a mum.  As I started to talk to my friends about how I was feeling, they too started talking about their own challenges – something they had never felt comfortable talking about until I had opened up. It’s a subject that we’re only just starting to talk about more freely, and there needs to be more conversations, particularly when it comes to our children.

I find many discussions about mental health lead to the same issue… that children and teenagers are not taught the skills they need to look after their own wellbeing. It’s not embedded in school culture, students aren’t given this essential toolkit to get through life and look after their mental health. I’d love to see them being able to develop resilience and the ability to better cope with life’s challenges.

So when I saw Ashley speaking and actually doing something about it – plugging the gap that I’ve been thinking and talking about – making a donation to her programme was a no brainer. The Resilient Kid are taking their expertise in physical and emotional wellbeing, and creating something that will benefit children now and into their futures.

Our donation meant that one nursery would benefit from a lifetime membership to this exciting new programme. We nominated Hartford Old School House Nursery which is based in our village. We like to support other local businesses plus our daughter Harper and niece Rosie go to the nursery and I am grateful that they will benefit from the programme.

But it’s not just Harper and Rosie who will benefit. Because the nursery has lifetime access to the programme, every child who goes through the nursery will get access to the content, giving them skills which they will be able to use throughout their lives. The nursery will receive new content and any updates as part of the lifetime access. There’s no after school training and no homework for the staff. This will be an interactive, physical programme with lessons and strategies for now and a lifetime.

Through the gofundme page, individuals and businesses can donate, and nurseries can fundraise themselves, so when they hit the jackpot they get lifetime access too.

The team at The Resilient Kid recognise what’s missing and what young children need, what they are struggling with, the challenges they have. They want to help kids to develop their confidence, friendship skills, emotional management and overall resilience skills. I’m delighted that they have taken the plunge to plug the gap, and I look forward to seeing our future generations flourish as a result.

Michelle Phelps is a mummy to Seb (6) and Harper (3) and wife to Ryan. Ryan and I were childhood sweethearts and have been friends since we were 13. Seb has severe autism and I am a proud special needs parent who speaks up to raise awareness of the additional challenges parent carers face. I qualified as a piano teacher at the age of 13, but have never actually taught anyone! Growing up I lived in Santa Cruz, California for 2 years so people sometimes struggle to place my accent.