A NEW campaign celebrating the achievements of groundbreaking heroines has been launched by Winsford based charity Motherwell.

The #inspireme crusade aims to empower vulnerable girls and young women in need of mental health support and is being funded by Children in Need

Winsford mum Kate Blakemore, who founded the charity, said she became aware of the need for such a campaign after experiencing a recent surge in enquiries from young women aged 14 to 18.

Kate, chief executive officer of Motherwell, said:“Half of mental illness starts from the age of 15 and 20 per cent of young people with mental illness will wait more than six months for appropriate support,” she said.

“Many of the young women we work with don’t believe in themselves so we hope to inspire them to make better choices by showcasing groundbreaking women - from Emmeline Pankhurst to Rosa Parks and Malala Yousafzai.

“We want to show them that an inspiring woman is simply someone who has the desire to do something worthwhile. Someone who creates a better world in some way – however small.”

Motherwell promotes women's health and wellbeing.

The campaign will run from July to October and culminate in a Women and Girls’ Conference on October 9 to celebrate the International Day of the Girl.

The conference will take place online to make it accessible for those who can’t travel and speakers include Dr Helen Pankhurst CBE – granddaughter of suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst - and Dr Diane Wright, chairman of the board of directors at South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce.

READ > 14 new apartments given green light in Winsford High Street

Topics will include barriers facing women today and identify what can be improved to improve health and wellbeing support.

Speakers will also explore how barriers to accessing appropriate mental health, education and work opportunities is preventing women from fulfilling their potential.

To support the campaign visit #inspireme on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.

To attend the virtual conference tickets are available at eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-and-girls-conference-tickets-97952383215

For details about Motherwell visit motherwellcheshirecio.com

Do you have any issues you would like to raise about anything? Please write to us at yourviews@guardiangrp.co.uk