Petrus Wellbeing Week 2025

Make a donation to Petrus and enjoy Mindfulness Monday alone or with company.

Why not run a mindfulness session with your colleagues or classmates using the resources above. Book some time in to meditate, stretch or walk together and collect donations for people talking part.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is about trying to be fully present; aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

Whenever you bring awareness to what you’re directly experiencing via your senses, or to your state of mind via your thoughts and emotions, you’re being mindful. The goal of mindfulness is to wake up to the inner workings of our mental, emotional, and physical processes.

By practicing mindfulness, you may feel calmer, more connected, and resilient to the challenges you face.

How can I practice mindfulness?

Try our quick grounding exercise – We’ve put together a simple grounding technique that can help you become more present in the moment and connect to how you’re feeling. In realising how you’re feeling you’ll also realise what support you might need to give yourself today, whether that’s a short walk or a quick nap to boost your mood! 

 

Sit upright in a chair with your feet firmly on the ground, your back against the back of the chair, and your hands resting lightly, palms down, on the tops of your thighs.

Close your eyes and take a deep inhale through your nose.

Hold this for a count of 4.

Breathe out slowly through your mouth. As you do this, slowly roll/push your hands down towards your knees and lightly press down.

Move your hands back to the tops of your thighs and repeat.

Repeat this three times and notice how you feel.

If you’re at work, you can do this before any calls or meetings as a group, or set a reminder to do this once an hour.

 

Guided Meditation Tour of PIER – PIER is a beautiful, relaxing and therapeutic piece of land, where we grow fruit and vegetables. It connects people from all walks of life and boosts wellbeing through interaction with nature. Imagine the sounds of wind rustling the trees, the stream babbling through and birdsong. Explore PIER through sound. 

 

Yoga – Nothing better than a good stretch to cope with stress and boost your wellbeing! There are lots of great yoga classes in person or on YouTube for free. Make some time to take notice of the feelings in your body as you stretch, and you’ll feel a massive difference.

 

Hold a Bake Sale to raise money for Petrus

You don’t need to be an expert in the kitchen to host a successful bake sale. There are plenty of delicious treats that are quick and easy to make. Whether you host your bake sale at home, work or at school, we’ve got some top tips for raising funds for Petrus!

Tips for organising your bake sale:

CONNECT with others – ask your friends and colleagues to get baking to and help with the organising! Things are always better when we do them together.

More treats…more money – Putting on a good spread is essential! From cakes, to biscuits, or even pies, the more you offer the more likely you are to appeal to all. Why not try our Fundraiser Martha’s favourite cookie recipe from BBC Good Food or for a savoury addition, our volunteer Shamshad’s Pakora recipe is hard to beat! 

Fake it until you bake it – If you don’t fancy baking, or are more comfortable with a packet mix, you can buy your sweet treats! (It’s not cheating, honest!).

Download our poster template – Use our poster template to let your friends, family and colleagues know all about your bake sale.  Download your bake sale poster!

 

Healthy habits like walking instead of using the car are a great way to improve your mental and physical health while doing your bit to reduce climate change.

Walking for mindfulness - You could also organise a group walk with friends or colleagues, collecting donations from everyone taking part or host a walk to school/work day to encourage everyone to get involved!

Get active in the garden - If you don’t have a garden, or would like some inspiration from our allotment, why not come visit us at PIER!

Run to end homelessness - If you’re looking for an even bigger challenge in support of Petrus, why not check our website to find a race near you. We have everything from 5 – 10km’s to marathons.

Being active in your community is a great way to boost your mood. Many people experiencing homelessness often feel isolated from society, but the smallest gestures, even something as simple as a hello and a smile, can have a massive impact for them.  

So, as you move through Thursday keep an eye out for opportunities to help someone with a random act of kindness or cherish that warm feeling when someone helps you.

Small things that can make a big difference today:

Spread Kindness:

• Tell someone why you are thankful for them
• Send a joke to a friend to cheer them up
• Create and affirmation wall where you can anonymously write nice messages for each other, showing your gratitude
• Check in with a friend or neighbour who might need a pick me up
• Make a brew for a friend or colleague
• Cook yourself your favourite meal, knowing that you, too, deserve kindness

Donate: Consider donating the money you’d spend on your lunch meal deal or that cheeky latte to Petrus here.

Bigger things that can make a long-term impact:

Volunteer: At Petrus we have many amazing volunteers who help us provide the best support for people experiencing homelessness and show people using our services that they are seen and valued. Enquire about volunteering with us.

Set up a monthly donation: When we work together, little things turn into big things. By becoming a monthly donor, you’ll help us to work strategically to meet the needs of the people we support and create lasting change in our community.

10 people donating just £2 a month raises almost £250 in a year! This could allow us to conduct two community outreach sessions or two health and wellbeing sessions. Set up your monthly direct debit here.

 

This day is all about feeling great and doing good! trying new things and exploring what makes you feel good! Here are some of our favourite ways to put the FUN into FUNdraising and make Friday, a Fri-YAY!

At work:

• Dress down day: Take it a step further and go Purple for Petrus.
• Raffle for Petrus: Get people to donate prizes, experiences, or even more cakes!
• Lunchtime Wellbeing Walk: Like we did on Wednesday, organise a walk in your local area to get those steps in and those good feelings flowing.
• Office Lunch Potluck: Ask everyone to bring a dish and share a team lunch together away from screens.
• Friday Trivia: Run a mini-trivia quiz to end the workday with some good competition and teamwork

At School:

• Non-uniform Day: Students can come in their comfiest clothes and donate to charity for the pleasure, feeling and looking good!
• Eco-Friendly Projects: Organise activities like litter picking, planting trees or flowers, and creating green spaces within the school grounds.
• Fundraising Events: Host sponsored walks or eco-themed fairs to raise funds and awareness.
• Classroom Challenges: Set up friendly competitions, such as who can walk the most steps or an affirmation board for people to put nice messages or quotes

By yourself:

• Get Your Steps In: Pledge to walk 10,000 steps today!
• Try a New Activity: Go swimming or try a new gym class.
• Cook a Delicious Meal: Treat yourself to a homemade meal and donate the money you’d spend on a takeaway to us.
• Clear Out Your Wardrobe: Donate items to our Hub.
• Gratitude Journaling: Spend a few minutes writing down things you’re grateful for.
• Self-Care: Treat yourself to a relaxing activity, like reading a book, taking a bath, or enjoying a hobby.

Make sure you’re following our social media to see what we’re up to on Feel Good Friday!

Taking a break from social media can do wonders for your wellbeing! Studies have shown that negative online interactions can lead to depressive symptoms like low mood and feelings of worthlessness.

Why not get sponsored to shrink your screen time? Unplug, refresh, and feel the positive effects on both your mind and body. Take a break from your daily social media scroll and make a meaningful difference!

How to check your screen time:

To check average screen time on Android, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Scroll down and tap on "Digital Wellbeing & parental controls".
3. View the pie chart that shows your total screen time across all apps.
4. Click on "View Activity Details" to see more detailed information about your app usage.

To check your average screen time on iPhone, follow these steps:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap on the "Screen Time" option.
3. View your daily and weekly screen time summary, which shows the average time you spend on your phone each day and breaks down usage by categories.
4. You can also see which apps you have spent the most time in