Ryan Mills Memorial Rugby Match & Marathon

See below details of a Memorial Rugby Match / Mental Health Awareness Day on Saturday, 14th May for Ryan Mills, a young Ards RFC player who sadly died last year.

To support this, I, along with a group of Ards rugby ex players/members shall be walking a full Marathon route around Newtownards on Saturday morning.

Any contributions however small would be greatly appreciated & any donations received will be divided equally between the 2 local mental health charities referred to below.

(progressive updates also available from 6am tomorrow morning via the Ards RFC Facebook page..)

Many thanks Andrew

Ryan Mills Memorial Rugby Match

⭐We would like to invite you to spend the day with us at Ards Rugby Club on Saturday 14 May 2022 for the Ryan Mills Memorial Rugby Match between an Ards Rugby Select and Millsy Select made up of family members, friends and former teammates KICKING OFF @ 14:30 ⭐️

On 2nd December 2021 Ryan took his life. This not only shocked his close friend group but the wider community and more importantly his family. Ryan was an advocate of mental health and helped in raising money and awareness for several different charities.

People in Northern Ireland are estimated to experience 20-25% higher levels of mental health illness compared to the rest of the UK, with only 1 in 4 people suffering from a mental health issue being treated. We believe there is not enough done in this country for mental health and suicide prevention.

Ryan enjoyed nothing more than playing a game of rugby on a cold and wet day with his team mates. By having this match we hope we can celebrate his life and also raise much needed awareness for mental health in the local community.

We have chosen two local mental health charities to support during this day.

CODO Drops a local drop in centre based in Bangor. Supporting people with mental health problems.

Our second local charity is S.P.O.R.T.S (Suicide Prevention Offering Recovery Through Sport) their Aim is to help providing clubs with knowledge and awareness of mental health difficulties, offer training opportunities and provide vital service links to encourage early intervention and support. They also ensure to continue to promote the benefits of participation in sport and physical activities to aid the journey towards recovery.