The GAP Project was the brain child of Mark and Claire from Meyers Estate Agents who wanted to create a project that would benefit their local community of Dorchester. Their estate agency has always had a strong ethos of ‘giving back.’
A few years down the line we had donated money to local charities and supported many community events. Our dream had always been to start a community project dear to ourselves so our customers and us could see what a difference our business and our franchise businesses could make to their communities across the UK as our business grows.`
We were extremely lucky and proud to create a partnership with Dorset Mind and the amazing supportive characters that have helped shape and develop the project from a dream into reality with the fantastic support of our local community - businesses and Mayor, The Dorset Mind Team including Dee Swinton, Bernadette Jones and Louise Regan - all pioneering founders of the project in Dorchester.
My background is quite a sad story but inspirational to me and I will explain why.
One day I came home from school to the news that my Dad had passed away suddenly. No one wanted to talk about it or explain, and no one could tell me the truth of what had happened. I worked out years later, that My Dad had most likely suffered from serious depression, he had tried to take his life before but was not able to get the help he needed and on this day, when I was 8 years old, his depression took his life.
Being so young, I didn’t know about my Dad’s struggles but I grew up wishing I could have helped him somehow. I volunteered for Mind when I was older and saw the absolutely amazing work they do first hand and the difference it really makes and met the most amazing service users who were generally the kindest, loveliest people I could have met.
We are extremely fortunate to be pairing up with Dorset Mind and have secured, with the help of Mayor David Taylor and David Upshall, three allotments. Our dream is to turn these into community gardens. One will be a seating/ relaxing area to come and have a drink, meet people and relax. One will be a working garden with fruit and vegetables for people to come and work. My Dad probably wouldn’t have been the type to come and chat in a group about his experiences but I hope he would have come and put work into something that has benefit, and that would have benefitted him too. The other garden will have a poly tunnel and will need some experienced gardeners or people willing to learn. Our aim is the gardens will have something for everyone and be very inclusive.
The first garden would also be great as an Eco garden and we’d love to get some younger people involved.
The GAP Project is for anyone and everyone who may be experiencing anxiety, depression, loneliness and other mental health obstacles. Gardening is shown to be very beneficial to mental health, giving a structure to your week, being outside, physical exercise and the feeling of achievement to seeing something grow.
We hope personally The GAP Project will give someone hope, or a way of feeling that there are people who do care and a way out of feeling the overwhelming feelings of depression. My Dad suffered a long time ago and things have changed and I know I could not have done anything to help but I can use his legacy as an inspiration to do something with our business to directly help others in our local community.
Dorset Mind’s Story
Pioneering charity Dorset Mind educates, challenges mental health stigma and inequality, and promotes recovery by empowering individuals to develop resilience. Dorset Mind shapes futures and changes lives.
Dorset Mind runs support groups and an accredited one-to-one befriending service that helps people regain confidence and social skills. The charity also provides mental health programmes for schools called Dorset Mind Your Head that supports young people, parents and teachers.
Dorset Mind’s game-changing workplace training programme, Dorset Mind Works, helps employers support employees, shape culture and benefit profitability.
Dorset Mind is a local affiliate of national Mind, established in 1946. The charity is independent and responsible for their own funding so when you donate to them your money goes directly to benefit people who live in Dorset.
Find out more online at dorsetmind.uk
Collaboration
Huge thanks to the teams at Meyers and Dorset Mind, ex-Mayor David Taylor, David Upshall, The Dorchester Lions and The Dorchester Round Table for getting involved and supporting this incredible project for the community.
Thank you for reading and thank you for showing interest in The GAP Project, please feel free to message us to find out more, volunteer yourself or find out how you could be involved and help.
Warm wishes for the Future,
Meyers Estates and Dorset Mind
