On the 1st October, Anna Firth MP visited Southend Apple Day at the Cherry Orchard in St Laurence with Cllr Steve Buckley. The event was hosted by Trust Links, Southend’s independent mental health charity.
Trust Links is South East Essex’s local independent charity for mental health and wellbeing. They offer therapeutic gardening, recovery classes, social activities, employment training, and more to people living with mental health conditions. Trust Links support around 1,500 people in Southend, Castle Point and Rochford each year. They aim to build stronger communities and promoting sustainable living.
Matt King, CEO of Trust Links, said “Our annual Apple Day is an opportunity for people to come together to celebrate the harvest at the historic St Laurence Orchard, which is the remaining fragment of orchards and smallholdings that used to be spread across Eastwood and north of Leigh. This year about 500 people came together to enjoy Apple Day at the Orchard, helping to raise valuable funds for Trust Links, so that we can help more people with mental illness. Being outdoors with nature, connecting with others, and giving back are so important for mental health and wellbeing. We were delighted that Anna Firth MP was able to join us on the day to see our work in action.”
Anna said,
“I am so happy to have attended this amazing charity day, and very thankful to Matt King for putting on this event. It was a fantastic day, meeting people from all over Southend and Essex to support an amazing cause, and I even got to pick my first Bramley apple. Getting outside is so good for our mental health and events like this are so positive for the whole community.
