Collaboration, not competition, is the name of the game when you're trying to do something for the greater good. And as our forty plus columnist Claire Kenny has discovered, with shared goals, everyone wins.

If you’ve been reading my columns a while, you’ll know how passionate I am about Leeds, and even more so about organisations that are striving to reduce the stigma around loneliness and isolation. Since going freelance as a PR and copywriter, my whole life is now about spotting, developing, and sharing stories.

I’m lucky to have Leeds charities such as Soundproof Box on my client list, have worked with Leeds City Council to encourage participation in community activities, and more recently started working formally with Recovery Runners, raising their profile as they move towards CIC status.

Recovery Runners is a grassroots club set up by Leeds lads Dean Smith and Jamie Heselden, who found that running helped them in their journey of recovery from alcoholism. It's now offering a safe space for people from all backgrounds to get a workout in, and if you’ve read some of our news coverage, it's life-saving, not just life-changing.

In looking for collaboration opportunities, I reached out to Leeds' own Jovanni Sterling. Since winning BBC Three's Rap Game UK, Jovanni, aka Graft, has set up his own organisation, Come Outside CIC with Robert Lattibeaudiere. It aims to encourage people from all walks of life to reap the benefits of the outdoors in an effort to improve their mental health and meet new friends. It also offers activities that people from inner city areas such as Harehills, Seacroft, and Gipton don’t always have access to. Like Recovery Runners, it's a proper community. So I knew the synergy would be off the scale!

We’ve now joined forces twice, at Recovery Runners HQ Reynolds Boxing Academy, and Come Outside’s Saturday run from Oakwood Clock. Bringing the two organisations together is a chance to not only celebrate and highlight each other's work, but also to share good practice around doing what we do best for the people of Leeds.

Dean and Jamie said: “What we have in common is that we see our groups as communities rather than clubs - it’s all about support not pressure. We're building the plane as we're flying it as we strive for CIC status, but what we do know is that it's leading us somewhere we can scale up, elevate, and ultimately make a difference to marginalised people.”

If you work in recovery and mental health services in and around Leeds, make sure you find out more about both clubs. The sense of belonging and empowerment they offer is truly magical.