\n A Furness College student has been announced as the winner of a special hoodie design competition aimed at raising awareness of mental health and encouraging people to speak openly about their feelings.\n<\/p>\n
\n The winning design, by Gracie McAteer, was selected as part of a competition organised by the college in support of the Twinkle for Heather campaign.\n<\/p>\n
\n Twinkle for Heather was launched in memory of Heather Porter who died by suicide at the age of 22.\n<\/p>\n
\n The campaign promotes the Girlguiding North Lonsdale Division\u2019s mental health awareness badge and works to challenge the stigma that can prevent people from seeking help.\n<\/p>\n
\n The competition invited students at Furness College to design a hoodie that would spark conversation about mental health.\n<\/p>\n
\n The response was described as “overwhelming” by organisers, who praised the empathy and creativity shown in the entries.\n<\/p>\n
\n Gracie McAteer and Kay Groundwater (Image: Furness College)\n<\/p>\n
\n Ms McAteer said she was “really happy” to have won, and said she entered the competition after learning about the campaign.\n<\/p>\n
\n She said: “I hadn’t heard about Twinkle for Heather before this competition so I looked it up and found out about it.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I entered because it is a good cause and I wanted to spread awareness.\n<\/p>\n
\n “I am really happy to be the winner and to be able to do something for this good cause.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Her winning design was brought to life by print company Identity, which printed it onto a hoodie.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ms McAteer was joined by Heather\u2019s parents, Sarah Milligan and Phill Porter, who co-founded Twinkle for Heather, to see the finished product.\n<\/p>\n
\n Ms Milligan and Mr Porter said the design perfectly captured the purpose of the campaign.\n<\/p>\n
\n Heather Porter took her own life in April 2022. (Image: Submitted)\n<\/p>\n
\n They said: “Gracie\u2019s winning design was chosen because the message was simple yet very emotive and impactful.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It reflects the whole idea behind the Twinkle for Heather campaign, created in memory of our beautiful daughter Heather, who we lost to suicide at the age of 22.\n<\/p>\n
\n “We want people to understand that reaching out for support is not a sign of weakness.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Identity, the company that produced the hoodies, played a crucial role in the project.\n<\/p>\n
\n Kay and Mel from Identity donated their time and the first hoodies, helping turn the design into a wearable reminder to start conversations.\n<\/p>\n
\n The college said it hopes the initiative will continue to spark important conversations, especially among young people.\n<\/p>\n
\n By encouraging creative expression and collaboration, the project highlights the strength in speaking up about mental health challenges.\n<\/p>\n
\n Twinkle for Heather continues to honour Heather\u2019s memory by promoting openness, understanding, and the importance of reaching out for support.\n<\/p>\n
\n The campaign has also helped raise awareness of the Girlguiding North Lonsdale Division\u2019s mental health awareness badge.\n<\/p>\n
\n The hoodie competition is just one example of how Twinkle for Heather is encouraging people of all ages to start conversations and break down stigma.\n<\/p>\n
\n Hoodies can be purchased in support of Twinkle for Heather from Identity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Furness College student has been announced as the winner of a special hoodie design competition aimed at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505861,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":["post-505860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=505860"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505860\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}