Trigger Warning, this article contains discussions of Mental Health which may be harmful to some.
As you may already know, our Student's Union charity of the year 2023-24 is bigmoose. We are super excited about this partnership and would love to get you all on board with some of the things that they are doing this year.
So, first let’s talk a little bit about bigmoose. bigmoose is a mental health charity who are on a mission to support people through therapy and early intervention. Their goals are to:
- Help people with their mental health
- Prevent suicides
- Reduce homelessness
The work that they are doing is super important, and in turn literally saves lives. As shown through the experiences of bigmoose’s first homeless employee, a 20-year-old that had regular therapy sessions, who said “this is the first time I haven’t felt like killing myself” after seeking their help.
The charity all started when the CEO, Jeff Smith’s best friend Gary ‘Moose’ Cloonan passed away from cancer in 2007. He has since stated to live every day to the fullest while trying to keep his best friend ‘moose’s’ legacy alive.
Read Moose’s story here: https://www.bigmoosecoffeecompany.co/why-moose
They have since started a charity in his name and opened a non-profit coffee shop in Cardiff in 2018, which has now held the top spot for ‘number one coffee shop in Cardiff’ according to Trip Advisor, every year since 2021! bigmoose are important to so many people from all different walks of life, with one customer who said, “thank you for being a safe place to go when the world gets too much”.
As well as bigmoose’s direct customers, the charity also means so much to Cardiff Met. From being partners with our Running Society, to being represented by our CEO, Will Fuller at multiple runs across the country, from the Newport Half Marathon to the London Marathon.
"I'm really pleased that the SU Trustees selected bigmoose as the SU's chosen charity this year. I'm also really proud to be fundraising for them in a personal capacity too. I believe in the bigmoose mission and want to help them to reach even more people by raising awareness of their mission, and vital funds for their cause" - Will, Student’s Union CEO
“We are planning to go to their coffee shop in the near future as a society and have some coffee and cake, as a great way for our members to get to know one another better away from running, whilst simultaneously raising some money for the wonderful charity. Runners are always up for some coffee and cake so we know this will go down well!!” - Sophie, Running Society Chair.
So, how can you help?
bigmoose have a super awesome event coming up very soon… the bigmoose ultra fun run! It’s on the 14th of April in Coopers Field, Bute Park, Cardiff.
This is an event for everyone! Whether you’re a park run hero or an ultramarathon warrior, you are invited to join us for a day of ultra fun in Cardiff’s Bute Park! You can choose to run the distance of a 5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon or ultramarathon.
It’s £15 entry but with code: CARDIFFMET you will get 10% off. Cardiff Met have their own team and there is a lovely trophy for the biggest team, and we want to win it! So get yourselves signed up here and let’s win that trophy.
Let’s smash this together!