The Ten10 Person of the Year award is a fantastic opportunity for one of our team to select a charity or community cause, tell us why it’s important to them and how they plan to help. The winner receives additional annual leave and a generous budget to cover the cost of undertaking their activity. Congratulations go out to this year’s winner, Bianca Walker, who nominated The Maya Centre.
Tell us about the Maya Centre – what do they do and why did you nominate them?
The Maya Centre is a women’s mental health charity that provides vulnerable women with free counselling and support, raises awareness of neurodiversity and mental health initiatives within their community and acts as a safe space for all women. Upon being diagnosed with ADHD last year, I found this charity in search for my own means of therapy and was amazed at both their ethos and their never-ending drive to provide in-person post-pandemic therapy.
What did your monetary donation to the charity go towards?
The Maya Centre have five counselling rooms in their hub based in Islington and Ten10’s monetary donation went towards providing them with new therapy chairs. They had previously had their old chairs for over 10 years, as they also provide psychodynamic therapy which often means the women they treat have to revisit the toughest times of their life. New comfortable chairs mean that we were able to add the comfort required in the midst of effective therapy.
How did you spend your time at the charity? What did you do while you were there and who were some of the people you worked with?
During my week at the charity, I got stuck into the various events they provide as part of their woman’s community hub. I taught an Afrobeat dance class, joined the woman group talks, strolled around Islington with their walking group, and took part in their relaxation techniques class. I also was able to support them with their family fun day event on my very last day. Throughout this week I was able to interact with the whole team from the therapists to the new and previous CEO.
Anyone else from The Maya Centre you want to shout out? Or an initiative they are running you want to let people know about?
I would like to shout out everyone at the Maya Centre. They are such an amazing team of women from all different backgrounds and walks of life. They truly inspired me and made me feel as though I’d always been there. The Maya Centre’s women’s hub is currently running loads of community-based women events in the borough of Islington which are typically free of charge and welcome to all women.