A fundraising campaign has been launched to buy a minibus for a mental health charity.
Growing Well wants to buy the minibus so more people from across north and east Cumbria can access its services at Tebay.
The charity, which also operates from Kendal and Egremont, offers free transport and mental health support within two weeks and is the only service to do so in the county.
The new minibus for Tebay will provide safe, door-to-door transport for up to 3,000 people over the next decade.
Growing Well aims to raise £42,000 for a 17-seater minibus by taking part in the Big Give Christmas Challenge from today until December 9, when every online donation is doubled.
Many beneficiaries said it was as much a part of their recovery as what happens at Tebay.
James Ruddick, whose physical and mental ill heath prevented him from driving, said: “The minibus was so important in my journey of recovery. It was the only means for me to get safely to growing well. The other volunteers on the minibus and made it feel that we are a team and going to do something with purpose.”
Charity chief executive Mary Smith said: “Rural isolation, and lack of transport, is a key contributor to mental ill health across Cumbria.
“And mental health challenges in this part of Cumbria are higher than the national average, and they’re getting worse.”
“A new minibus for Tebay, replacing one that breaks down, will change that. It will provide transport for participants who attend once a week for between six and 12 months.
“67% per cent of people who come to us make a significant step change in their wellbeing. Also, they can start within two weeks of referring themselves, or being referred. Some waiting lists for NHS mental health services are as long as two years.”
Growing Well volunteer Roberto Diblasio said: “When I first joined, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I never imagined how much simply planting, weeding, and harvesting could do for my mind.
“As the location is rural and people are suffering with mental health issues, public transport could be an issue if there wasn’t a minibus to bring us in, and take us home. Without the minibus everything that takes place at Growing Well wouldn’t be possible.
Tebay’s Growing Well helps people in Eden and North Cumbria, recover from mental health difficulties through volunteering with them for one day a week for up to a year. Supported by experienced therapeutic growers and mental health professionals, volunteers rebuild confidence, learn new skills, benefit from peer support, and progress towards their personal goals.
Produce grown by volunteers is delivered to the service station where it is prepared, cooked and served to customers every day, a few hundred metres from where it is grown. Growing Well also has a tree nursery at Tebay.
To make a donation during the Big Give visit www.growingwell.co.uk/big-give
