Bellerby to Climb Everest for Charity

Chloe Bellerby, freshmen Sussex soccer player, is planning to climb Mount Everest to help raise awareness for mental health.  In March 2019, Chloe will be climbing to Mount Everest base camp as an effort to raise money in association with Mind - The Mental Health Charity.  Bellerby has worked with Mind for a couple of years, and in 2018 she walked 200 miles from Leeds to London, UK, raising over $12,000.  This year, Chloe is hoping to raise at least that amount again while taking on a challenge of a much bigger scale.

Chloe, who has battled depression, wants to be a voice to help others. "For anyone that doesn't know, mental illness is exhausting. It tests you daily and you are in a constant battle with your own mind. Depression made me feel as though I would be better off dead than alive. It made me believe that the world would be a better place if I wasn't in it. It made me hate everything about living. It took everything from me."

Speaking of her battle with depression, Chloe states, "I don't want anybody to go through what I did. I talk about mental illness daily because it needs talking about. It's real and you can't get rid of it by just wishing it away. This is a cause that needs support, it needs action, it needs investment, it needs education, and it needs to be a priority"....."If I can help just one person to seek help, to realise that mental illness is a battle that can be won or to help them just through one single day, then for me, sharing my story is more than worth it."

One of the reasons that Chloe has chosen to climb Everest is to try and give hope to those suffering from depression. "Climbing Mount Everest next year is going to be mentally and physically challenging. The altitude will make it hard to breathe,  but when you're in the darkness of depression, breathing feels impossible. If I can show that perseverance through the most difficult times is possible, then maybe I can help others see that there is a light at the end, that there is a summit."

If you would like to take part in this great cause, visit CHLOE'S FUNDRAISING PAGE to make a donation.