Spotlight on: Craig Prentice & Sean Wheeler

We are profoundly grateful to the many individuals and organisations who champion our cause with such passion and devotion. Today, we are honoured to highlight our Patron Craig Prentice, Founder of mum, and Ambassador Sean Wheeler, the backbone of our flagship Walk for Wellbeing initiative and whose unwavering dedication to HA has transformed the lives of many.

CP: Tell us a little about the Walk for Wellbeing. How you came up with the idea and how it has evolved over the past five years.

The idea came about during the pandemic, a challenging time for many. Most people had spent a lot of time alone or away from others, faced numerous unexpected life challenges, which in turn had impacted their own physical, mental health and wellbeing. People in hospitality were impacted hugely.

Walk for Wellbeing was created to bring people back together, to shine a light on and help promote the importance of better mental health and wellbeing for our people, whilst raising funds to power the vital work of Hospitality Action.

Human connection, physical movement and generally getting out and about in the fresh air all have a positive impact on mental health, so creating an initiative around a walk seemed a good idea.

Above all, Walk for Wellbeing is all about making a positive difference – to ourselves, those around us, the work of HA and in turn directly impacting the number of people the charity can support.

SW: How did you get involved in the Walk for Wellbeing?

In my roles within operations and Human Resources I was always very aware of the importance of having a robust wellbeing strategy in place, as I have seen many employees struggling with the different aspects of wellbeing such as mental, emotional, social, physical support needs or financial help and where possible I ensured there were plans & strategies in place to support them in house or found expert support such as the Hospitality Action Employee Assistance Programme when we didn’t have the appropriate skills to support them, as I know an employee that feels supported by their employer is more likely to stay working with them.

When Craig contacted me in 2020 during the pandemic, to talk me through his vision for Walk for Wellbeing I knew there would be a lot of hospitality people going through a very tough time, especially mentally, emotionally & financially and felt raising awareness of this and also raising much needed funds to help Hospitality Action to support them was a no brainer to get involved and here we are 5 years later with an even bigger Walk for Wellbeing in 2024.

CP: What have been your most memorable moments from the last five years?

There are so many. Our first walk in London back in 2020 felt particularly significant giving the world was ‘reopening’ – restrictions were still in place and despite rules changing just a few days before the walk took place, we were still able to walk in bubbles of six, that seems such a long time ago now, given how far the event has come.

Last year was terrific, we had over 800 people walking across the UK, as individuals, in teams, with family and friends – challenging themselves in their own way, either on one of our hosted 20km city walks or with their own personal challenge in their own location.

There is a real sense of community surrounding the event, having people of all ages, backgrounds and sectors of the profession join in makes the event not only unique, but very special also.

SW: In your role as President of HR in Hospitality how have you supported the walk?

Walk for Wellbeing & Hospitality Action have been the nominated charity of HR in Hospitality (HRiH) since the start - it is a great partnership as all three are about looking after and supporting hospitality people. HRiH use their annual awards to raise awareness of both great causes to the 350+ HR & operation professionals that attend as well raise funds on the night from the ticket sales, raffle & auction, which has contributed a significant amount each year.

Choosing Walk for Wellbeing & Hospitality Action as your nominated charity, is so easy to do and getting behind Walk for Wellbeing is a great way to bring teams together for a common purpose which includes taking part in the walk or raising much-needed funds in a variety of ways from a cake bake to getting sponsors all to support fellow hospitality people when they most need it.

CP: What does wellbeing mean to you?

Wellbeing is about how I feel about myself and my life, how I approach my physical, mental and emotional health, but social connection too. Having and building resilience to deal with life’s day to day challenges is also key to me

In turn, of course, it’s then about how I interact and look out for/after those around me.

SW: How can people get involved in the Walk for Wellbeing this year?

Walk for wellbeing is so much more than a walk - it’s about looking after your own health by walking, raising awareness of the need for wellbeing support in hospitality, and raising funds to support your peers when they need it most across our sector

It’s so easy just register - just sign up on www.walkforwellbeing.org

You can walk your own way from the 10 October until 27 October - which could be in your own backyard, with the dog, or your friends & family any where and any distance or you can join one of 20km hosted walks we have this year across 9 cities on the 13 October in London, Bristol & Bath, Birmingham, Manchester & Glasgow and new this year Oxford, Cardiff & Liverpool are joining us which is fantastic.

So get involved, sign up and don’t just talk the talk, walk the Walk for Wellbeing.

Profound thanks to Craig and Sean for their tireless support and commitment. If you'd like to register for the 2024 Walk for Wellbeing click here. #wevegotyou

Blog. Spotlight on: Craig Prentice & Sean Wheeler