King Charles’ Charity Helped One Woman Become a Successful CEO, Entrepreneur
Grace Graham’s Mental Health crisis drove her to start a company that nurtures mental health
Grace Graham has been integrating businesses to look inward and at their own culture since the launch of her company WorkSpa in 2016, which provides organizations with mental and physical wellness initiatives for employees. WorkSpa's mission is to make workplaces more productive and happy by fostering workplace cultures that improve satisfaction and employee well-being.
After encountering years of adversity, Graham struggled to maintain her mental health. Her teenage years were filled with tragedy as her father passed away, she was raped, and a few years later, her boyfriend was tragically killed. The pain of her reality drove her to use substances to numb the pain for the next 12 years.
"I became incredibly good at hiding from my pain that I seem to convince everybody that I was okay as if it somehow if I could continue to hide from my feelings, perhaps it would all go away," said Graham.
Opportunity Comes with The Prince’s Trust
Overcoming this obstacle was something Graham couldn’t face until the age of 26 when she realized it was time to move forward. While she was elevating herself for the better, opportunity was right around the corner for her with The Prince's Trust, a charity founded by King Charles to help young people achieve their goals. She describes her time with the organization as a " pivotal moment in the changing of my life." It allowed her to regain her self-esteem and gave her hope that she could still lead a successful life despite her challenges.
When faced with this opportunity to change my life, I could either stay in a state of unconscious pain or wake up and take responsibility for my well-being,” explained Graham. “So I decided to do that, and I checked myself into rehab and got clean.
As an ambassador for the Prince's Trust, Graham understood how to share her story to encourage others like her around the world. This motivated her to create WorkSpa, which offers specific services for leadership, employees, and management's well-being. More than 200 corporations in the UK use WorkSpa, including HSBC and Universal Music Group.
Giving Back Is a Central Pillar
Known for her commitment to giving back, Graham has raised over 400,000 pounds ($433,385.60 US dollars) for organizations supporting young girls. The Prince's Trust recognized Graham's outstanding work and role model status by awarding her the 'Young Ambassador of the Year award in 2018 and 2019. As an activist, her goal is to empower women, especially women of color, and provide opportunities for them to hear her story and get inspired to keep going no matter what life throws at them.
Mental Health America's (MHA) 2023 campaign is "Take some time to look around, look within," encouraging people to acknowledge how their surroundings affect their mental health, and that’s exactly what Graham is accomplishing with WorkSpa. MHA creates a theme every year to spread awareness and promote resources. Thanks to Mental Health America and other organizations, Mental Health Awareness Month has been observed in May since 1949.
Checkout more articles
Female Gamers Push the Video Game Industry to Unprecedented Levels
