1 Year with Mid Kent Mind

Mid Kent Mind were chosen by our team in May 2023 to become our official charity partner for the past year.

With food & drink so intrinsically linked to mental wellbeing, and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis having such a profound impact on mental health, it was a fantastic opportunity for us to work together to impact local communities and raise the profile of mental health support in Faversham & the surrounding areas.

Financial Support

Thanks to your support we have raised over £4,400 through various activities...

• Our Car Boot Fairs - with all entry fees going to Mid Kent Mind and fundraising stalls manned by our team.
• Our Big Foodie Quizzes - with £5 from every ticket sale going to Mid Kent Mind and a bumper raffle at each.
• Our Coping over Christmas Campaign - highlighting how Christmas can amplify feelings of loneliness, depression & anxiety.
• Tombolas - at all our big events, including our Macknade Birthday Party.
• The Three Peaks Challenge - where a team of our staff scaled the UK's three highest peaks - Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Mt Snowdon - in under 30 hours!

Thank you to everyone who joined us or donated to any of these activities - every penny will allow Mid Kent Mind to be there for more people experiencing mental health problems in our local community.

Transforming Spaces for Service Users

With the help of some special partners (shout out to JSP, Neptune Canterbury & Practical Sittingbourne!), we also donated 120 staff hours to transform the service delivery areas at Mid Kent Mind's wellbeing centre in Maidstone.

The areas are used to conduct group wellbeing workshops, courses and counselling sessions with clients in the local community... and now they have been transformed into warm and welcoming spaces which promote a greater sense of wellbeing.

Ongoing Initiatives For Our Community

In October last year, we introduce a weekly wellbeing walk, led by our team and starting at Macknade, which explores the countryside surrounding our Faversham food hall. It is a great opportunity to get outdoors, meet new people, and enjoy the benefits that nature can bring to mental health and wellbeing. The group meets every Tuesday at 9.15am and anyone interested can sign up here.

We are also looking to introduce a weekly Wellbeing Café that offers social support alongside mental health advice, so please keep an eye on our socials and sign up to our mailing list (via our homepage) for updates!

The Future...

Whilst we will be selecting a new charity partner for the year ahead, we have left a legacy with Mid Kent Mind that will have a lasting impact for service users and we are grateful to everyone who has supported us to do this. Mental health remains hugely important to us at Macknade and we look forward to working with the Mid Kent Mind team regularly in the future to keep mental health firmly on the agenda!