22nd September 2011

DORCHESTER: Boost for Borough Garden's Rethink kiosk

By Anita Harries

The kiosk in Dorchester’s Borough Gardens is run by the charity Rethink.

Operating since 2007, it is manned by Rethink staff, volunteers, and service users, allowing those recovering from mental illness to regain confidence, gain valuable work experience, and ease themselves back into life in the community. But with profits from the kiosk going to the charity, it all costs money to keep going.

Dorchester man Mark Meyer, 38, worked in the kiosk during the summer, but decided he wanted to do more to help. So he ran the London Marathon this year in aid of Rethink and, together with a raffle held to celebrate the launch of his new business, he last week presented a cheque for £1,036 to the kiosk to help keep this valuable resource up and running.

His generosity does not end there. Mike has created an online estate agency, Meyers Estate Agents, covering Weymouth, Dorchester, and Bridport. With experience in this area, he has decided to put his talents to good use and put even more money back into the local community.

“As an estate agent I love helping people move on with their lives. As well as the skills I have acquired in sales, I am also a trained counsellor, and am combining the two to help people both move house and move their lives forward.

“I enjoy facilitating very much, “said Mike. “As a rule we feel that estate agency is wildly overpriced, so we offer a headline selling rate of 0.75%, no VAT, and no sale no fee. For every single sale we make, we will pay £100 to community charities to benefit the local area. We do this because we love, and want to be a part of, our brilliant community. We want to support it as we grow, and will aspire to be the very best at what we do. We will help people to move house in the most efficient time possible and at the very best price.”

So as well as his generous donation to Rethink, the charities to benefit from Mike’s new business will be Julia’s House, the Bridport TLC, the Weldmar Hospicecare Trust, the Lifeboats, and the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance. This first cheque to Rethink will aid the charity in its work.

Rethink strives to help everyone affected by severe mental illness to recover a better quality of life. They provide hope and empowerment through effective services and support to all those who need them, and campaign for change through greater awareness and understanding.

Mental health problems can affect anyone at any time in their lives. A staggering one in four people in the United Kingdom will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year. Severe mental illness remains largely hidden, shrouded in prejudice, ignorance, and fear, and many who experience such an illness feel frightened and alone. Equally as many have been victims of discrimination, and almost half have been abused or harrassed in public.

Rethink is determined this will change, and that everyone affected will receive the support they need on their road to recovery.

Mike Meyer has a website at www.meyersestates.com, or you can call him on 0800 8499256 or 01305 259436.

PICTURE: Mike Meyer and his wife Claire (centre) present a cheque for £1,036 to Rethink's Joan Evans and Annalisa Renee

DORCHESTER: Boost for Borough Garden's Rethink kiosk

DORCHESTER: Boost for Borough Garden's Rethink kiosk

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