Hampshire family raise over £34,000 to help spot signs of eating disorders
The Simms family have raised the money in memory of their daughter
A family based in Hampshire have raised over £34,000 for Beat, the UK’s eating disorder charity. The Simms family launched a memorial fund in honour of their daughter, Charlie Simms, who passed away from anorexia in November 2020 at the age of 39.
Charlie developed anorexia during secondary school and was affected by an eating disorder for almost 25 years. She was the youngest of Jeanna and Mervyn Simms’ four daughters.
By raising money for Beat, the Simms family are helping to invest in early intervention as well as the prevention of eating disorders, including Beat’s new SPOT training, which is aimed at school professionals.
The Simms family have now far surpassed their original fundraising target of £10,000.
Mervyn Simms, Charlie’s father, says: ‘It is hard to articulate just how much the eating disorder dominated Charlie’s life and our own. Sadly the warning signs of Charlie’s illness were not understood, and she was admitted to a general mental health unit at just 14 years old.
‘She spent a large part of her life in and out of inpatient eating disorder units across the country, and had over 50 hospital admissions during the course of her illness.’
‘It’s common for eating disorders to develop during primary and secondary school. That’s why we’re so keen to support Beat’s SPOT training, which helps teachers to spot the signs of eating disorders quickly, and makes sure that pupils and parents are getting the support they need.
‘Our daughter had an incredible artistic talent and a love for learning, and achieved so much including a first-class honours degree in social sciences and psychology. She was determined to keep fighting against anorexia and built a fulfilling life with her family, friends and dog, Toby.’
‘We hope that by sharing our story we can help demonstrate the importance of people getting the right support early on before it impacts their whole life. We know that Charlie would agree that getting the right kind of care as soon as possible is vital.’
Jo Jennings-Bundy, Philanthropy Lead at Beat, says: ‘We are so grateful to all of the Simms family for their support, and for sharing their memories of Charlie. The coronavirus pandemic has caused a great deal of stress and upheaval to young people affected by eating disorders – we at Beat are still seeing around double the amount of contact to our Helpline compared to pre-pandemic levels – and it is now even more essential they receive the help they need at the earliest opportunity.
‘School professionals can play a key role in identifying eating disorders. The money raised by Charlie's memorial fund will provide primary school professionals with the tools they need to support pupils quickly, which gives the best chance of preventing symptoms from worsening and will better support the mental health of young people.’
Director of Marketing at Beat, Philip Roethenbaugh, said: "this will be the first time as a pilot in Hampshire to actually look at helping teachers in primary schools, because it's quite possible that children as young, as sort of ten and eleven, could be already developing the early signs of eating disorders, so the sooner it can be spotted, the sooner the treatment can be giving, and increase the chances of getting well so much more."
You can donate to Charlie Simms memorial fund online.