A MENTAL health charity is teaming up with a British Army veteran to keep people in shape during lockdown.

The Chester-le-Street based charity, If U Care Share Foundation is teaming up British Army veteran and personal trainer Mark Tonner to keep people in physically and mentally active during lockdown.

The foundation focuses on suicide prevention, bereavement support and promoting positive mental health in communities.

Mr Tonner served as a corporal in the British Army for 15 years within the Cheshire & Mercian Regiment. While deployed overseas in Afghanistan he sustained life changing injuries due to an IED blast. However, that never stopped him from being active.

Throughout the current lockdown period Mr Tonner is offering in- home fitness training, which is delivered through an online portal via his website marktonnerstraining.com. The training is suitable for all abilities and is a great way to keep fit and active during this lockdown.

The Northern Echo:

Mark is charging just £1 to take part in the in-home training with all money going to If U Care Share Foundation to support the work they do in our communities.

If U Care Share Foundation, like many charities, has seen a drop in fundraising due to the Coronavirus outbreak, but has found ways to overcome the challenge. The lockdown has seen demand for support services rise as people are increasingly isolated from friends, families and colleagues.

The Northern Echo:

Fundraising and Events Manager Dominic McDonough said: “We are really grateful to Mark for using his experience to launch this great programme. Keeping active is so important at this time, it’s great for both physical health but also your mental health. Demand for our charity is higher than ever and the funds raised by Mark and the team will make a huge difference to us.”

Nathan Connelly of Mark Tonner Training said: “Working with If U Care Share to promote positive mentality only seems like a natural fit for us as healthy mental wellbeing is at the heart of our business. This is the main reason we decided to donate 100 per cent of our MOB members area proceeds in the lockdown period to If U Care Share, to help support the increased need for the service in the state of lockdown.”