Preston Fencing Club to take on two-hour marathon for CALM

A group of fencers will be taking on a two-hour marathon dual to raise funds for a male suicide charity.
Members of Preston Fencing Club: Jordan Thirlwall, Matthew Metcalf and Liz Chinn.Members of Preston Fencing Club: Jordan Thirlwall, Matthew Metcalf and Liz Chinn.
Members of Preston Fencing Club: Jordan Thirlwall, Matthew Metcalf and Liz Chinn.

Matthew Metcalf, Jordan Thirlwall and Liz Chinn, of Preston Fencing Club, are challenging other fencers to take them on during a two-hour stint at West View Leisure Centre, Fulwood, on Monday October 8.All money raised will go towards CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably), which raises awareness of male suicide and runs a support line for those in crisis.

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Matthew, 26, of Fulwood, said: “This is the second time we have organised this event. I first did it last year as I worked for an agency in Bolton and they did some events for CALM, so I was inspired to do this with the club.“Around 75 per cent of all suicides are committed by men and there is a crisis in mental health at the moment, especially men’s mental health. “CALM aims to reduce the stigma surrounding men’s mental health and the rate of suicide amongst men. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 45 and we know people who have suffered with similar issues in the past. “That is why for the second year running, we are raising money for CALM to help others who have been through similar issues to us and to reduce the amount of suicides amongst men.“Myself, Jordan and Liz will compete for two hours against various people and we won’t stop. Others will come on and off but we will remain for the whole two hours.“When we finished last year, we had to sit down for a while to recover. We were quite exhausted.”

Matthew is inviting people from clubs across the North West to join in. The event is from 7.30pm until 10pm.To make a donation visit http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/prestonfencingclub

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