This year, Joseph turns 13 and he’s undertaking a walk and talk project to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah.

On his JustGiving page, Joseph asks: “Did you know that walking in the countryside helps with mental health? Research carried out by the charity Mind found that 71% of respondents reported feeling less stressed and less depressed after a ‘green walk” and he’s absolutely right.

Inspired by the findings from Mind, Joseph is going to undertake a series of walks with his friends. His goal is to be with his friends enjoying being outside in nice places, making each other laugh and telling each other stories. And, apparently, one of their most important goals will be to eat cake.

These walks also provide a wonderful opportunity for Joseph and his friends to talk about things that maybe concern young people today.

What Joseph is doing is encouraging his friends to join him in a psychologically healthy environment and away from the isolation which many young people can find themselves drawn to, often spending hours on laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Joseph also decided to undertake these walk and talks for his Bar Mitzvah for two other important reasons:

1. To remind us how important it is to look after our mental health
2. To raise money for two organisations which help support those who are struggling with their mental health.

One of those organisations, we’re delighted to say, is The Jordan Legacy. The other being Jami, who focus on improving and saving lives impacted by mental illness in the Jewish community. To find out more about Jami please click this link.

To support Joseph’s walk and talks you can donate to his JustGiving page here.

You can visit Joseph’s Mum’s Facebook page here, for updates, including the date of their next walk. You can also leave a comment on the page to let Joseph know if you’re interested in walking with him and his friends.