14th October 2020
We've had an emotional day today meeting with some of our amazing independents on Tonbridge High Street together with Lorna Sharp, Business Development Officer for West Kent Mind.
Lorna wanted to speak to as many of our partners as possible to thank them for supporting West Kent Mind through thetncard. Since February we've been able to donate over £1.2K to the charity, as well as raising awareness of their community work and the resources and training they provide.
We were able to spend time with Flowers by Enchantment, Sankey's, Nancy's tearoom, The Fairy Godmothers, Grace Fashion, Absolute Creative Print and 65mm Coffee. Thank you everyone for being so open about the challenges and difficulties you're facing this year, and how it's impacting your mental health.
Lorna thanked Claire and Mandy at Flowers by Enchantment for raising over £1500 for West Kent Mind (and the same for
Reverse Rett) through their sale of hand-sewn face masks, and Kerry from Studio 23 Photography for raising £700 through her doorstep portraits. We also visited Dean at Toni & Guy Tonbridge to thank him for providing free hair services to NHS staff in the summer.
We are grateful to Nicolas Heslop, Leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council for taking the time to meet us afterwards to chat about mental health, the pressures facing our town and how we can support our independents more over the months ahead.
There were many we were unable to meet today so we're planning another walkabout soon, as well as one in Tunbridge Wells over the coming weeks.
