Silverlake Automotive Recycling [Silverlake] is supporting suicide prevention charity Andy’s Man Club through its charity scheme UDonateacar.com.  As well as raising much needed funds, Silverlake invited the charity to provide presentations to all staff at its Shedfield site in the run up to Christmas and New Year; a time which can be a stressful for many.  Recognising the invaluable service Andy’s Man Club provides to the local community, Silverlake treated members of the charity team from the Eastleigh and Southampton branches to hospitality and football, on 23rd December 2023, when Eastleigh Football Club played Dorking Wanderers, winning 2-1 at home in the Eastleigh F.C Silverlake Stadium.  A tour of the company’s automotive recycling site before lunch and the match added further interest to the day.

Andy’s Man Club want to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health.  They offer free peer-to-peer groups at 150+ locations across the UK, every Monday [except Bank Holidays] at 7-9pm.  The groups give men 18+ the chance to come together in a safe and open environment to talk about any issues they are facing, or have faced, support each other and lighten the load.  Demand is high with over 3,700 men attending regularly.  The charity also delivers talks to organisations to raise awareness of men’s mental health and how to access various support available. 

100% of funds raised by Silverlake’s charity scheme UDonateacar.com go to Global’s Make Some Noise, which provides grants to small charities doing vital work in local communities across the UK. Andy’s Man Club received their grant in 2023. Customers selling their car to Silverlake can donate from as little as £5 of the sale value to UDonateacar.com.  Guaranteeing best price, Silverlake will also collect the car for free and handle all the necessary DVLA paperwork.  

Allen Prebble, managing director at Silverlake Automotive Recycling said: “Men experience disproportionately high-rates of suicide, with death by suicide being the biggest killer of men under the age of 50 in the UK*.  Mental illness affects people of every gender but poor mental health outcomes for men are often driven by ‘toxic masculinity’ where men are portrayed or expected to be strong and silent.  For many men, admitting to a mental health challenge feels like showing weakness and they fear being judged by their friends, family and employers.  Andy’s Man Club encourages men to talk and provides a vital service to support men’s mental health.  Staff feedback from the presentations they gave at Silverlake was hugely positive.  We are proud to be able to raise funds for Andy’s Man Club through our UDonateacar.com scheme and it was a real pleasure to have them as our guests at Eastleigh Football Club.” 

Darren Edwards, Project Development Champion at Andy’s Man Club said: “The grant we received from Global’s Make Some Noise, supported by Silverlake’s UDonateacar.com fund raising, helps us to keep our doors open and provide a safe space for men to come and talk and we are incredibly grateful.  It was great for our Eastleigh and Southampton teams to have a day out as guests of Silverlake and very much appreciated – the site tour was a real eye opener into automotive recycling.  I also welcomed the opportunity to run three presentations for Silverlake’s staff to ensure everyone heard our message that ‘It’s okay to talk’.