This week we take a closer look at fundraising and, with over 220 of you having already answered our Urgent Appeal to become regular donors, we find out how the money you give helps support our new digital services. We also speak to some fundraising fire cadets who have embraced our Fire Family Challenge by coming up with their own unique series of challenges, with a 999 theme. Inspirational beneficiary, Chris Morrison, meanwhile, tells us about the personal challenges he’s faced in the wake of colon surgery and discusses his fundraising trek across the Sahara Desert to say thank you for the support he's received. There are more of your fundraising achievements and, to round off, we hear from firefighters across the UK as to why giving to the Charity is important to them.

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With the easing of lockdown restrictions causing anxiety for many, our Wellness and Behaviour Change Coach, Sally Walker, looks at some of the simple steps you can take to help you through these challenging times. Two of our Senior Exercise Therapists, Rachel and Kelly, meanwhile, join us to discuss the challenges of getting back in shape and getting back to healthy ways after months of sluggishness and snacking. We mark more of your fundraising and lifesaving heroics in Thank You Two, and we catch up with Essex Fire and Rescue Service’s Martin Chester to find out how he’s been supported by The Fire Fighters Charity and why being a regular donor is so important to him.

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We meet Dr Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, Chief Fire Officer for West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, doctor of behavioural neuroscience and author of The Heat of The Moment – A Firefighter’s Stories of Life and Death Decisions. Discussing the importance of positive mental health and her work to support firefighters with heat of the moment decision making, Sabrina talks openly about the things that have haunted her and inspired her to write. With The Fire Fighters Charity facing a fundraising shortfall of £200,000 a month due to the coronavirus, we also reveal why it’s important that you donate through an Urgent Appeal to help the Charity through these troubling times.

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In Episode Two we take a closer look at the art of relaxation, we ask why it’s so good for us and discover how we should all actually be doing it. In honour of National Carers’ Week we also meet Cathy McBrion and her husband John, to find out how life has changed for the couple since her stroke. Some incredible recent achievements from our fundraisers and fire and rescue services are also squeezed into our new, two-minute Thank You Two segment and we catch up with former RAF firefighter Mark Latham, to find out how daily meditation and yoga has helped him with his mental health.

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In our first episode we speak to Crew Commander Cailli Anderson at Surrey Fire and Rescue Service Control about the mental health challenges of working during the coronavirus pandemic. We also find out what services The Fire Fighters Charity is delivering at this time, ask why it’s so important to keep talking and discover how you can get involved in a challenge with a difference.

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